Big Island park must protect its water

HILO » Hawaii Volcanoes National Park is looking at ways to protect the park's water supply from a possible terrorist attack, spokeswoman Mardie Lane said.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced yesterday that it had ordered 20 public water systems in the western United States to prepare for terrorism. The only site in Hawaii is the national park.

Lane said the park already sent a "vulnerability assessment" to the EPA last month. A plan for how to respond to any vulnerability will be written and sent to the EPA in the next three months, she said.

The park gets all of its water by collecting rainwater in a nearly 1-acre field of sheets of metal roofing. The water is stored in a series of tanks with an overall capacity of 1 million gallons, Lane said.

The entire system is surrounded by fencing, she said.

From that system, the park serves its headquarters and visitor center buildings, housing, the Volcano House hotel, Hawaiian Volcano Observatory and other facilities, she said. Kilauea Military Camp, a vacation center for military personnel, is also located inside the park but has a separate water system, Lane said.