KAILUA-KONA — The number of downed deep wells in North Kona hasn’t changed as four of the region’s 14 water sources remain out of commission. A 10 percent voluntary conservation on water use in the area also remains in effect.
However, Department of Water Supply officials said at a Water Board meeting Tuesday in Kailua-Kona that they’re making progress on at least three of the four fronts, adding the deep well at Honokohau may be pumping water to the surface again as soon as early January.
Kawika Uyehara, DWS deputy, told the board a coupling issue complicating progress at the site has been remedied. The relevant equipment is with the contractor and the electrical connection is expected to be complete by week’s end.
“If that schedule maintains itself, we’re looking at maybe mid-December having the (equipment) down the hole,” Uyehara said.
Assuming no problems, the department might turn the Honokohau tap back on by early next year. Power monitoring equipment will be included in the Honokohau revamp, which DWS hopes will provide for better management at the troubled but important site that has failed three times since 2015.
Uyehara said the department expects testing on equipment intended for the Hualalai Deep Well repair should be completed by the end of next month, with installation work slated to begin in early 2019.
He added DWS is hopeful it can award a contract for repair of the Palani Deep Well by mid-January. When water might flow again at Hualalai and Palani, Uyehara didn’t say.
As for Waiaha, the fourth offline well in the North Kona system, the department had little news to offer.
Derrick’s Well Drilling and Pump Services lost equipment, including a pump and motor, when a cable snapped during an extraction attempt in summer 2017. That equipment has yet to be retrieved.
Derrick’s, which continues to bid on projects and conduct a good deal of business with DWS, may be held financially liable for the costs associated with whatever solution DWS decides on for Waiaha.
“Just yesterday, I think, we received a letter from the contractor’s attorney,” Uyehara told the board Tuesday. “So because of the potential for litigation on that one, we’re not going to make further comment at this time.” Okamoto said in an interview earlier this year that the situation with litigation is complicated because of a lack of contractor options on the island. Seeking restitution could actually prove more expensive for DWS in the long run depending on the impact litigation would have on Derrick’s financials and what kind of insurance payout the company might be able to secure.
