KAILUA-KONA — The county Department of Water Supply hoped to return 2 million gallons of water per day back to the short-handed North Kona water system.
KAILUA-KONA — The county Department of Water Supply hoped to return 2 million gallons of water per day back to the short-handed North Kona water system.
After a significant setback during 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 deep well.
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).”
Waiaha, one of four downed deep wells in the 13-source North Kona system, was on schedule to return to service on Monday, a goal the department long thought attainable.
The recently ordered pump and motor were installed last week. Following its initial startup Thursday, the well “tripped on over current condition,” according to DWS release. In other words, it malfunctioned. Workers at the site began troubleshooting and determined the problem originated “down-hole.”
“The contractor proceeded with extracting the pipe column to eventually get out the pump and motor,” Okamoto explained. “Then Saturday morning, the cable on the rig broke, so that whole assembly dropped back down into the well.”
The assembly Okamoto referenced consists of the pump, motor, majority of the column pipe and power cable.
Okamoto said representatives from contractor Derrick’s Well Drilling and Pump Services LLC of Keaau were back at the site Monday working to correct the malfunction.
Though the pump and motor have yet to be visually inspected, Okamoto said he’s all but certain they suffered damage because of the cable break. Once extracted, they will need to be repaired or new equipment must be manufactured — a process that takes months.
New parts, if necessary, would cost DWS hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, because the equipment appeared to malfunction before the cable break, it might be covered by a manufacturer warranty. But the problem wasn’t identified before the cable break, which Okamoto said almost assuredly caused more damage, so whether new equipment would be covered by the warranty remains unclear.
“We’ll need to review the situation in further detail before we can comment on warranty or responsibility of costs,” Okamoto said.
Mayor Harry Kim was disappointed when he heard the news during the weekend but didn’t assign blame to DWS or the contractor. He chalked it up instead to staggering misfortune.
“The first thing my mind quietly said was, ‘Is this a joke?’” Kim said Monday. “The bad luck is unbelievable. It’s like buying 10 new cars and all of a sudden three or four of them go out on you, which isn’t supposed to happen.”
The mandatory 25 percent water usage reduction for North Kona remains in effect. Assuming no other wells go down, no new or intensified restrictions are expected.
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.
Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.