Federal report warns
of isle water shortageLocal managers say supplies
will meet demand for 20 years
Hawaii water managers say they expect drinking water supplies to meet growing needs for 20 years in most areas of the state despite a federal report that lists Hawaii among several states that will experience shortages over the next decade.
The report, released yesterday by the U.S. General Accounting Office, predicts a majority of states will face freshwater shortages in the next 10 years, even without drought.
Central Maui and Central Oahu are high-growth spots that could tap out underground water supplies sooner than 20 years, said Roy Hardy, ground-water regulation branch chief for the state Division of Water Resources Management. And much of the state's agriculture remains highly dependent on rainfall.
Hardy's agency estimates the sustainable yield of each aquifer in the state -- how much water could be pumped without draining the supply.
Each island has a finite supply of ground water, and fresh water cannot be piped in from other states as it is on the mainland, said Gordon Tribble, district chief for the Water Resources Division of the U.S. Geological Survey.
"On the bright side, there is really is no scarcity of water in Hawaii," Tribble said. "If people are willing to pay for fresh water (made from ocean water), it certainly can be had."
In fact, the technology and cost have improved enough that the Honolulu Board of Water Supply plans to build a 5 million-gallons-per-day desalinization plant, which will be expandable. The board also plans to expand its recycled water system, which provides nondrinkable water for irrigation, said Barry Usagawa, Honolulu Board of Water Supply principal executive of water resources.
Oahu's water future is "bright," Usagawa said, "because we have all these opportunities to develop alternate resources that remain untapped and to utilize new technology.
"We're going to be seeing a really diversified water system on Oahu ... that matches water quality with its appropriate use -- high quality for drinking and lower quality for irrigation."
National water availability and use have not been comprehensively assessed in 25 years, but current trends indicate that demand on the nation's water supply is growing, the GAO, Congress's investigative arm, said in its report.
The nation's capacity for building new dams and reservoirs to store surface water is limited, and ground water in many parts of the country is being depleted faster than it can be replenished, the report said.
The potential effects of climate change also create uncertainty about future water availability and use, the report said. Most climate experts expect global warming to create more droughts and more extreme storms.
As a result, water managers in 36 states surveyed by the GAO said they anticipate water shortages in the next 10 years under "average water conditions."
Even without drought conditions, the shortages could have "severe consequences," the report said.
Hawaii was among 16 states the report said expected to face regional shortages in the next decade. But Hawaii officials said that decreased water use since the sugar industry downsized has bought the state some time.
Even at Maui's Iao Aquifer, which some believe is overcommitted, "it's an infrastructure problem" of removing water at the right time, in the right way, from the right place, Hardy said.
There have been eight water shortages around the country resulting from drought or heat waves over the past 20 years resulting in more than $1 billion in damage each, the GAO report said. The most costly totaled more than $40 billion in damage to the economies of the central and eastern United States in the summer of 1988.
About 90 Maui sugar workers were laid off in early June because drought halted planting. One watershed on the island had the third-lowest rainfall in 79 years in May. The workers were called back a few weeks later.
A recent posting on the U.S. Geological Survey's Web site notes that even wet spots like Mount Waialeale on Kauai and Oahu's Poamoho peak on the Koolau Mountains are experiencing below-average rainfall over the past 12 months.
Mount Waialeale's 12-month total (277 inches) is its lowest since 1993. Poamoho's 12-month total (115 inches ) is its lowest yearly total on record (1967-2003).
Rainfall on Hawaii's forested mountaintops trickles down through volcanic rock to become the ground water of the next generation.
The Geological Survey also notes record low stream flows in Oahu's Kalihi Stream and Maui's Honopou Stream and as much as a 1.6-foot drop in water level at some Pearl Harbor aquifer test wells between October and May.
Scripps Howard News Service contributed to this report.
BACK TO TOP |
Test explores recycled
water irrigation
On the mainland, recycled water is being used to irrigate land above drinking-water aquifers.
But in Hawaii the concept will not be embraced unless scientific research can show that no pollutants from the recycled water will seep into the potable water supply, said Erwin Kawata, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply's principal executive for business development.
So, in an undeveloped corner of the Central Oahu Regional Park, a consultant to the Board of Water Supply is conducting a three-year, $2.8 million test of the filtering power of topsoil.
The results could have a significant impact on how much quality ground water is saved for drinking while recycled water is used to water parks and public lawns.
"Hawaii has a unique geology," Kawata said. "Studies done in other states don't necessarily apply here."
At 12 test plots, consultant Brown & Caldwell is measuring which, if any, pollutants in 5,000 gallons a week of treated water from the Honouliuli Wastewater Reclamation Facility can make it through five feet of soil.
"Soil's a natural filter," said Woodie Muirhead, of Brown & Caldwell. His research team is measuring for 38 nutrients and bacteriological elements, 42 metals and 64 organic materials to see what gets through.
Some plots have grass, some do not. Some are fertilized, some are not. The background chemicals in the soil, those in the fertilizer and in the applied water are all measured.
When the study is complete in 2004, the company hopes to have results for the Board of Water Supply.
"The ultimate goal is to reuse all the waste water so there is no more ocean outfall," Kawata said.