Update: Power, Water Restored to N. Shore Residents

The Department of Water, or DOW, has lifted the water conservation notice for Wainiha to Ha‘ena customers as of 9 a.m. this morning after a power outage earlier this week forced county crews to restrict normal water use.

Kauai Island Utility Cooperative worked with helicopter crews to address a downed powerline on a hillside that impacted a DOW water facility in the area. Power was restored 4:50 p.m. on Thursday, July 13. Water facilities returned to normal operating levels and customers may now resume normal water use.

“Water tank levels can take time to fill up back to normal operating levels. The amount of time depends on how low or depleted the tank is,” stated DOW officials. “Basically, as soon as the electric is restored, our pumps are activated to begin refilling the tank. As tank refills, the water mains will also begin to fill with water, and customers will start to see water pressure increase at their tap until service is fully restored to normal.”

The county notified the public in a press release on Tuesday, July 12 about the immediate water conservation notice from Wainiha to Ha‘ena, advising customers to limit water use to essential needs to avoid a full water service outage.

During the outage period, DOW officials stressed the need to help keep water tank levels stable until power could be restored while KIUC shared about the difficulty of repairing a downed powerline.

“The biggest complication was that there was no access to the area except by helicopter,” said KIUC officials, noting the aircraft is not owned by the co-op but Airborne Aviation whose pilots are experts in remote area access.

DOW installed a hydrant faucet on Powerhouse Road until water service could be returned to provide potable water access for customers. And although power has been reinstated to a water pump facility, DOW officials stated that water levels take time to return to normal.

To learn about immediate updates regarding the Department of Water, please click here.