Board of Water Supply asks Oahu residents to conserve water as Hurricane Lala passes

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The Board of Water Supply (BWS) is asking all residents to begin reducing their water use before severe weather arrives.

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A tropical storm watch remains in effect for Oʻahu with Lala passing south of Hawaii Island as a Category 1 hurricane Saturday afternoon.

Residents should continue to limit water use until BWS lifts the request for water conservation, BWS officials said.

“In addition to making sure your emergency kit has enough water for up to 14 days, it’s important to limit water use to essential needs – drinking, eating, and hygiene,” said Ernest Lau, BWS manager and chief engineer. “This is an island-wide call to help us keep our reservoirs as full as possible and to keep water service going as much as possible during and after the storm. We need everyone’s kōkua in this effort.”

“If you’ve got to do the laundry, please hold off for a couple of days. Obviously do not wash your car. Do not water your lawn, things like that,” said Board of Water Supply’s Kathleen Pahinui.

Read more Hurricane Lala: Island-by-island list of Hawaii closures, cancellations

Storm damage and power outages, even intermittent, can impact water service across the island. These impacts can hinder BWS’s ability to pump water from wells and other water sources throughout the water system. BWS has generators positioned around the island to help prevent water outages as much as possible.

If water cannot be pumped to a reservoir tank, the water remaining in the tank will be all that is available until electrical power is restored or made available through other means.

Water conservation is needed during significant storm events and electrical outages until storm warnings have officially been canceled, electrical power is restored and water levels in reservoir tanks have return to normal.

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