Hawaii First Water

Red Hill Crisis Underscores Water Insecurity In Hawaii

(LK comment:  Jacob is right on…  In addition to conservation and reuse, Hawaii needs to begin to think about a Desal pilot program just in case.  The price of Desal has significantly decreased and we have seen what one Red Hill situation can cause and we have not seen the end of this crisis.) April 2022, Civil Beat Opinion Jacob Wiencek: Late last year a devastating water crisis hit Hawaii as thousands of gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility leaked into the groundwater.

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Thousands of mostly military families were relocated out of housing and the crisis worsened military-community relations given the preceding years of intense debate about the environmental impact of the facility.

However, most disturbingly it revealed a fundamental weakness that impacts not just Honolulu but all of Hawaii: our near single source dependence on underground aquifers presents an enduring threat to the state’s water security.

The Red Hill crisis is not the only water crisis to face Hawaii in the recent past. Maui County had to issue a water conservation noticethat inflamed an age-old debate about balancing water for residents and one of our primary economic pillars, tourism.

More broadly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration holds that the entire state of Hawaii is either in abnormally dry conditions or at least moderate to severe drought.

Whether through a man-made crisis or climate change we are facing increasing pressure on our water resources — and that pressure will only intensify as Hawaii’s population continues to grow (we clocked a 7% growth rate from 2010-2020).

To see the rest of this excellent piece see: https://www.civilbeat.org/2022/04/red-hill-crisis-underscores-water-insecurity-in-hawaii/

 

 

Raise Your Hand: Honolulu Advertiser 2020/ Water In the Islands

(Editor Comment:  We commend high school senior Megan Okuma for her insightful article on water scarcity in the islands.)

By: Megan Okuma, Leilehua High School, Class of 2020.

As inhabitants of an island, most of Hawaii cannot fathom running out of water. However, although we are surrounded by such a precious resource, only 0.4% of the world’s water is drinkable. In Hawaii, most of our water comes from aquifers where it has traveled for years through soil and volcanic rock. This extensive, natural purifying system is the reason why Hawaii ranks first for water quality domestically. Yet with the population increasing and climate change affecting our rainfall patterns, Hawaii may see a decline of the cleanest water in the country within the next 100 years.

Conserving water is one of the easiest tasks in our environmental crisis to tackle as individuals because each of our actions directly affect the state of our water supply. We have complete control over the amount of water we use and if we take responsibility for this natural resource, we control the future of our water supply.

Water is not an infinite resource and, with a water cycle that has sustained Hawaii for ages, it makes more sense to change our habits rather than continue harvesting a finite resource with the same practices that created the problem in the first place. Of the 164 gallons of water used by residents every day, 100 gallons are used just for basic tasks: 20 to 50 gallons for showering, 18 to 24 gallons for flushing toilets and 26 gallons on running faucets. Through installing water- saving technology and routinely checking for leaks, the amount of water used can be reduced significantly.  Fortunately, there is an array of technology designed to combat the water crisis from focusing on bigger efforts like creating a new source of freshwater to simpler efforts like home instillations.

For the rest of the article see here…

Ocean sensors help UH researchers understand Hawaiʻi Island aquifers

May/University of Hawaii: Parrotfish, Pike, Pompano and Perch were instrumental in helping University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa researchers gain a better understanding of Hualālai aquifer on Hawaiʻi Island. The four marine electric-field receivers, dubbed with common fish names, are part of state-of-the-art technology used by researchers from ʻIke Wai, a large-scale, multidisciplinary project funded by the National Science Foundation’s Established Program to Stimulate Competitive Research (EPSCoR).

The nine-person research team conducted an eight-day marine survey and covered approximately 200 kilometers to gain a better understanding of how freshwater releases into the ocean from below the seafloor. Eric Attias, a postdoctoral researcher at the UH Mānoa served as chief scientist.

The backbone of the study uses a surface-towed marine controlled-source electromagnetic (CSEM) system called Porpoise that was recently developed by the Electromagnetic Laboratory at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“You have two novelties here, you have a very new system, in terms of worldwide, which is one-of-a-kind, and the second novelty is the capability of this system to detect deep submarine groundwater deposits. Hence, both the technology and its application are new,” said Attias.

Researchers can differentiate between fresh and salt water in submarine groundwater systems through the use of the new technology. CSEM is being used like MRI imaging to map the electrical resistivity of the groundwater structures along the coast up to about 500 meters below the seafloor.

For more information see…

Pearl Harbor Study: Integration of aerial infrared thermography and in situ radon‐222 to investigate submarine groundwater discharge to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, USA

Abstract

Jacque L. Kelly
Henrietta Dulai
Craig R. Glenn
Paul G. Lucey

October: The largest freshwater spring complex in the Hawaiian Islands discharges groundwater into Pearl Harbor, Oahu, which is the largest estuary in the islands. This discharge occurs as subaerial and submarine springs, as non‐point‐source (diffuse) seepage, and as baseflow to streams. We conducted airborne thermal infrared remote sensing surveys of sea surface temperatures and ocean‐based 222Rn surveys of surface and deep waters to evaluate the efficacy of combining these methods to locate and quantify these differing groundwater discharges to the harbor. High spatial‐resolution (≤ 3.2 m) sea surface temperature data were advantageous for identifying and differentiating point‐source and diffuse groundwater discharge. Surveys of surface waters for 222Rn confirmed point‐source and diffuse seepage zones identified from the sea surface temperature maps. The 222Rn mid‐ and deep‐water surveys were crucial for locating benthic seepage not detectable by the remote sensing method. Groundwater discharge estimates from radon time‐series data agreed with radon surface water survey estimates. Fresh groundwater discharge estimates were also of the same order of magnitude as previous hydrologic estimates of spring discharge. We produced linearly and highly correlated relationships between plume areas and groundwater discharge by combining the thermal infrared and radon techniques. Such relationships may provide a way to up‐scale local groundwater discharge assessments to a regional area.

To see the full report see:  https://aslopubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/lno.11033

US Government Releases First Global Water Strategy

December: By Brent Walton, Circle of Blue:

To coordinate its response to floods, droughts and disease and other water challenges whose political and economic challenges leap borders the Trump Administration submitted the Federal government’s first global water strategy.

Ordered by Congress, the strategy lays out four goals; to increases access to safe drinking water and sanitation, improve water management, protect watersheds from pollution, and prevent conflicts over river, lakes, aquifers that cross political boundaries.

“Safe water and sanitization are fundamental to solving challenges to human health, economic development and peace and security,” the 70 page report states.

Here is the link to the report…

AWWA/HWEA Pacific Water Conference

(November ) The American Water Works Association Hawai‘i Section and the Hawai‘i Water Environment Association are proud to announce the fifth annual joint conference now known as the Pacific Water Conference at the Hawai‘i Convention Center from February 6 – 8, 2018.  Our joint conference committee is hard at work to bring you an exciting, fun, and educational conference.

The Pre-Conference Workshop kicks things off on Tuesday, February 6. The Conference officially opens on Wednesday, February 7 and lasts through Thursday, February 8.  Join us at the Convention Center Kamehameha Exhibit Hall I to cheer on this year’s operator competitions featuring HWEA’s Operations Challenge and AWWA’s Pipe Tapping and Top Ops events.  Remember to check out the exhibitors showcasing the newest and latest products in the industry.  With five technical session tracks to choose from, there’s sure to be one that piques your interest.   The conference golf tournament will be held on Friday, February 9 at the Kapolei Golf Course, and the community service event will take place on Saturday, February 10.

Here is the link to register…

 

(Kona’s) Waiaha Deepwell’s return to service derailed by malfunction, cable break

Aug 2017, By Max Dible West Hawaii Today mdible@westhawaiitoday.com

KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply hoped by Monday to return 2 million gallons of water per day back to the short-handed North Kona water system.

After a significant setback over the weekend, those hopes now lie dashed alongside a new pump and motor — both likely damaged from the mishap — more than 1,700 feet underground at the bottom of the Waiaha Deepwell.

There is no timeline for when the well might again be operational.

“I don’t expect it in the near future at all,” said Keith Okamoto, DWS manager and chief engineer. “But it’s too early to tell how many months or whatever (it will be)….

…DWS discussed at the time possible procedures for strategic water disruptions, if such action proved necessary. Kim said it was compliance with the mandatory restriction from some of North Kona’s largest water consumers, as well as the community at large, that allowed everyone’s water to stay on. He said Monday he is hopeful those customers will maintain the same vigilance moving forward.

Repairs to the other three downed wells in the area remain on schedule, Okamoto said, and all are expected to return to service by the end of the year or sooner.

See the rest of the article here…

(Hawaii) County scrambles to fix wells but repairs more than a week away…

July, By Cameron Miculka West Hawaii Today cmiculka@westhawaiitoday.com

HONOKOHAU — Commercial fisherman Tyler Hams makes his living on the water, and that living depends on keeping saltwater out of his motor and his equipment clean.

For that, he needs fresh water.

“I mean, I get it that there’s a water restriction,” Hams said at Honokohau Harbor on Friday. “This is how we make our living.”

Hams was one of many boaters and fishermen at the harbor on Friday who said an emergency restriction on water usage issued the day prior that ordered a halt on washing boats was unworkable.

The notice came down following the failure of the Keahuolu Deepwell and asks North Kona residents and customers to immediately restrict water usage to health and sanitation uses. Four other wells of the 13 that service the area have been inoperable since January.

A separate announcement from the mayor’s office said North Kona residents “must cease all other non-essential water use, including all irrigation and washing of vehicles and boats.”

In an update released Friday afternoon by the Hawaii County Department of Water Supply, the department said the restriction remains in effect and that North Kona residents and customers must continue to restrict their use of water to health and safety purposes.

See the rest of the article here…

Why Honolulu’s Pipes Keep Rupturing…

May 2017, Civil Beat, Courtney Teague.

When a 2-foot-wide, cast iron water main broke beneath the H-1 freeway in Kahala in January, workers had to dig a gaping hole nearly 20 feet deep, and repairs took several days. A nightmarish traffic backup ensued, and the Waialae Beach Park was temporarily closed.

Two months later on a sunny afternoon in nearby Palolo, residents stood in their driveways, watching water shoot out of Pakui Street from a broken 16-inch cast iron main. The plume could be seen for miles as it rained down on a house across the street.

Sheila Niderost pointed to white lines around the break that she said were painted about a month earlier when the pipe had previously burst.

A Water Main Breaks Almost Every Day On Oahu

Like many Palolo residents, Niderost’s home has been in the family for decades. She can recall several main breaks on Pakui Street, including one 20 years ago that damaged her car and flooded her house and yard. The road cracked down the middle, and boulders rolled off the Wilhelmina Rise hillside at the end of her street.

“That was the worst I’ve ever seen it,” she said.

While some cause a lot more trouble than others, ruptures occur almost every day somewhere along Oahu’s 2,100 miles of water pipes.

Oahu has more water main breaks than most mainland cities of similar size. Unique island factors like underground lava tubes and corrosive clay soils — along with an apparent longtime unwillingness to charge people the actual cost of delivering their fresh water — are often blamed.

Whatever the cause, Honolulu faces a mammoth challenge in upgrading its water infrastructure. The Board of Water Supply aims to replace 1 percent of all pipes in the system annually, which would cost an estimated $160 million each year in current dollars.

BWS is considering another multi-year rate increase to help pay for the work. Even after fees were raised from 2012 to 2016, Oahu water users pay less than what is needed to operate and maintain the water system, according to a University of Hawaii professor and engineering expert.

See the rest of the article here…

Water out of thin air? It can be done…

April: By J.D. Capelouto, Reuters

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – People living in arid, drought-ridden areas may soon be able to get water straight from a source that’s all around them — the air, American researchers said Thursday.

Scientists have developed a box that can convert low-humidity air into water, producing several liters every 12 hours, they wrote in the journal Science.

“It takes water from the air and it captures it,” said Evelyn Wang, a mechanical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and co-author of the paper.

The technology could be “really great for remote areas where there’s really limited infrastructure”, she said.

The system, which is currently in the prototype phase, uses a material that resembles powdery sand to trap air in its tiny pores. When heated by the sun or another source, water molecules in the trapped air are released and condensed — essentially “pulling” the water out of the air, the scientists said.

A recent test on a roof at MIT confirmed that the system can produce about a glass of water every hour in 20 to 30 percent humidity.

Companies like Water-Gen and EcoloBlue already produce atmospheric water-generation units that create water from air. What is special about this new prototype, though, is that it can cultivate water in low-humidity environments using no energy, Wang said.

“It doesn’t have to be this complicated system that requires some kind refrigeration cycle,” she said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

An estimated one third of the world’s population lives in areas with low relative humidity, the scientists said. Areas going through droughts often experience dry air, but Wang said the new product could help them still get access to water.

“Now we can get to regions that really are pretty dry, arid regions,” she said. “We can provide them with a device, and they can use it pretty simply.”

The technology opens the door for what co-author Omar Yaghi called “personalized water”.

Yaghi, a chemistry professor at University of California, Berkeley, envisions a future where the water is produced off-grid for individual homes and possibly farms using the device.

“This application extends beyond drinking water and household purposes, off grid. It opens the way for use of (the technology) to water large regions as in agriculture.”

In the next few years, Wang said, the developers hope to find a way to reproduce the devices on a large scale and eventually create a formal product. The resulting device, she believes, will be relatively affordable and accessible.

(Reporting by J.D. Capelouto; editing by Alex Whiting.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women’s rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climate)