Agencies push for closer collaboration on funding, data sharing and resilience for small water utilities

Multiple agency representatives used the meeting to propose a standing collaboration focused on funding, data sharing, emergency response and resilience for small water and wastewater systems.

Why it matters: Presenters said small systems frequently face technical, managerial and financial challenges that show up in rate cases and sanitary surveys and that better interagency coordination could identify problems earlier and make financing and technical assistance easier to access.

What agencies said

- Funding and SRF: Dennis and other Safe Drinking Water Branch speakers (referenced in the meeting) and consumer‑advocacy staff discussed using State Revolving Fund and other low‑interest financing to help struggling systems. Michelangelo, executive director of the Division of Consumer Advocacy, said a centralized resource listing funding sources and qualification requirements would help utilities and customers: “If we can just pull, hey, this is where all our funding sources are and what they look at, and here's how you have to what you need to qualify, and here's what you need to do,” he said.

- Data sharing and early warning: multiple presenters urged sharing PUC rate‑case financial information, DOH sanitary surveys and CWRM monitoring data so agencies can identify systems at risk earlier. One presenter said that coordinated monitoring could help avoid last‑minute emergency filings like Punalu‘u’s.

- Resilience and emergency coordination: attendees raised disaster planning and resilience (including water availability for firefighting and operation during power outages). Department of Health staff explained DOH’s role as the primary contact under emergency support function 3 during acute incidents and cautioned about publishing emergency contact numbers publicly because of spam vulnerabilities.

- Practical next steps proposed: participants suggested a short list of follow‑up actions — compile agency contact lists and resources, run a shared case study exercise on a past small‑system failure, explore SRF and other financing path options, and develop a prioritized calendar of collaborative meetings. Commissioner Naomi Kauai and other participants volunteered to help streamline application processes for small utilities and to pursue cybersecurity and resilience guidance.

Ending: Meeting organizers said they would circulate a short survey to participant agencies on priorities and attempt to schedule follow-up collaborative meetings in the coming months to pursue case studies, shared data inventories and funding roadmaps.