Department of Water Supply suspends in-person payments, assures public water is safe

In response to growing public concern over the COVID-19 pandemic, the county Department of Water Supply wants to reassure customers their water remains safe to drink and inform the public of safety measures intended to slow the spread of the virus.

In the interest of health and safety, DWS is also suspending all in-person payment collections and customer service inquiries for 30 calendar days starting Friday. During this period, DWS will accept only telephone, online, auto-payment and payments sent through the mail. All customer service inquiries will be handled by phone or email.

Customers wishing to pay by telephone should call toll-free 1-844-216-1994 anytime. There are no fees for phone payments. Online credit and debit card payments are limited to $500 per transaction. The transaction limit is $10,000 for those making an e-check payment.

To pay a DWS water bill online, please visit www.hawaiidws.org, click on the “Pay Your Bill Online” tab on the home page and follow the easy-to-use self-service portal. Don’t forget to input the full nine-digit ZIP code. Please make certain to visit the official DWS website, which has a homepage featuring a waterfall, to avoid mistakenly making payment through unauthorized copycat sites that charge fees.

The remote payment options are free and secure.

DWS customers also can opt to have payment deducted from their checking account by enrolling in the automatic bill payment option. DWS does not charge fees for automatic payments.

To learn more about the Department of Water Supply’s easy payment options, please call Customer Service at 961-8060 in Hilo, 887-3030 in Waimea, 322-0600 in Kona or 929-9111 in Ka‘u. Operating hours vary, but all offices are open from 7:45 a.m. to 3 p.m. weekdays, excluding holidays. See www.hawaiidws.org for specific times.