KAILUA-KONA — A water main broke Monday afternoon on Alii Drive, leading to flooding of the roadway that spilled into the underground parking area at Waterfront Row. ADVERTISING KAILUA-KONA — A water main broke Monday afternoon on Alii Drive, leading
KAILUA-KONA — A water main broke Monday afternoon on Alii Drive, leading to flooding of the roadway that spilled into the underground parking area at Waterfront Row.
The rupture also cut off water to several businesses on Alii Drive, causing some such as Lava Java to close shop for the day.
The main was carrying fresh water and did not cause a biohazard, so those out strolling were able to scale rock walls or splash their way through the giant, ankle-high puddles and navigate around the inconvenience.
Robert Ravenscraft, county Department of Water Supply district supervisor in Kona, said the leak was reported at about 11:30 a.m. Monday, but the department wasn’t able to shut off the main’s water supply until sometime after 3 p.m.
“We have to leave the main running until excavation so nothing (contaminated) the pipe,” he explained.
The water supplying the main was shut off and the flooded areas slowly drained through the seawall. The parking lot at Waterfront Row continued to drain as of late Monday afternoon.
The section of Alii Drive between Hualalai Road extending south toward the Huggo’s area was closed to through traffic, but Darren Okimoto of the county Department of Water Supply said the road would be ready for travel by some time Monday evening.
“Excavation usually takes the longest,” he explained. “In this case, we were able to get it opened up pretty quickly. Once they cut the pipe and splice in a new section, not too bad, a couple hours maybe. The biggest problem after we repair the pipe will be to repair the road and clean it up.”
The county Department of Public Works assisted with roadway cleanup, and the pavement was expected to be patched up well enough by Monday evening to accommodate traffic.
DWS workers finished excavation and pipe maintenance some time between 4 and 4:30 p.m. Ravenscraft said Tuesday the investigation showed the break in the bottom of the main was roughly 2 feet long and 4 inches wide.
Okimoto blamed the crack in the main on old age. A stressor of some type could have been a contributing factor, but based on investigation, he thought general wear and tear was the likely cause.
Maryrose Riddle, an employee at Bubba Gump Shrimp Co., just across the section of Alii Drive where the main broke, described how quickly the thoroughfare turned into a shallow canal Monday.
“It was like the rock wall had a bunch of little holes in it and water was just shooting out into the road,” she said. “At first, it didn’t seem too bad, but then it just flooded this whole street right here. Then, it started coming up to the restaurant and pouring down into the parking lot.”
On Tuesday, Alii Drive was open to through traffic and running water had been restored to all affected businesses.
Email Max Dible at mdible@westhawaiitoday.com.
