Project to drain reservoir stops
Water conservation starts as air bubbles cease at one site
Big Island officials stopped draining one of two damaged reservoirs in Waimea yesterday to conserve an estimated 13 million gallons of water.
The county's Department of Water Supply began diverting the remaining water from Waikoloa Reservoir 1 to a treatment plant so it can be pumped later to area residents, said Lanny Nakano, assistant administrator for the Hawaii Civil Defense Agency.
The draining was canceled on Saturday night because the reservoir no longer showed air bubbles, which indicate holes, Nakano said. Officials believe the Oct. 15 earthquakes might have created as many as three 2- to 3-inch holes in the first reservoir, and two similar holes in the second one.
Reservoir 2 was still being drained as of yesterday afternoon because boils kept coming up, said Milton Pavao, manager of the water department. That reservoir, which had about 25 million gallons of water as of 5 p.m., could be completely flushed by Wednesday, he said.
There is no concern about a water shortage for residents of Waimea, Ahualoa and the Lalamilo Farm Lots, who together consume 2 million gallons of water a day, Pavao said.
A third reservoir, holding about 50 million gallons of water, appears to be fine.
The damaged reservoirs were built by the state some 30 years ago, Pavao said. It is unclear how much the repairs could cost. The water department built the third reservoir, which is about 15 years old.
Pavao said it could take anywhere from five days to a month to refill the two reservoirs once they are fixed.
Meanwhile, the Big Island Transportation Department is still working to reopen a damaged section of Kawaihae Harbor. The harbor in North Kohala is handling only one commercial barge at a time, said Dave Curtis, spokesman for state Civil Defense. He said one harbor warehouse suffered a 6-inch crack that runs all the way to the pier.
And on Maui, Paahi Bridge remained closed yesterday because of structural damage, Curtis said.
