Unsafe Water Advisory amended for all areas of Lahaina

All water in public water system in Lahaina safe to drink

The Department of Water Supply amended the Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahainaʻs remaining zones to remove areas L-5 and L-6. Water serving buildings and homes in areas L-5 and L-6 is now declared safe for unrestricted use effective August 02, 2024. Therefore, as of this date, all water in the public water system in Lahaina is safe to drink.

The Department of Water Supply verifies its water quality testing up to the water meter. For privately owned water systems, it is the property manager's responsibility to test the water quality of their properties. Community members can search an address using the interactive Water Advisory Map at www.mauirecovers.org/water to confirm if their address requires testing; these areas are denoted on the Water Advisory Map with green hatch marks.

"This is one of the most important milestones that our community has reached, well ahead of schedule, thanks to the determined and tenacious efforts of our County of Maui Department of Water supply crews, in close collaboration with the State Department of Health (DOH) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)," said Mayor Richard Bissen. "This is a momentous accomplishment that will benefit those living in standing homes, and assist our residents who are making plans to rebuild."

The coordination required to complete this work was significant, said County Water Director John Stufflebean. "In order to overcome numerous challenging obstacles, County crews and our DOH and EPA partners united toward one goal, which resulted in the lifting of the Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahaina in less than one year from the devasting wildfires of August 2023," Director Stufflebean said. "We are grateful for their valuable assistance in reaching this key objective."

In areas L-5 and L-6 there were a total of 1,945 lots, of which 1,310 were fire-impacted, totaling about 67% impacted. There were also a total of 1,293 water service laterals in areas L-5 and L-6 of which, over 900 were sampled and 830 were cut and capped to isolate the laterals from the system.

Water may have stagnated in the plumbing of homes and buildings within areas L-5 and L-6, while the advisories were in effect, and the Department of Water Supply recommends customers flush their lines to remove any standing water in plumbing and pipes due to non-use and replace it with fresh water. Lines may be flushed by opening valves and letting the faucets run for at least 10 minutes.

Customers experiencing water issues can call the Department of Water Supply at (808) 270-7633.

The Unsafe Water Advisory was issued on August 11, 2023, as a precautionary measure due to the unknown impacts of the August 2023 Maui wildfires on the drinking water system in the area. In Upper Kula and Lahaina, structures in the water system in both areas were destroyed by the fires, and some areas in the system experienced water pressure loss. These conditions may have caused harmful contaminants to enter the water system.

The Department of Water Supply has been working closely with the Hawai`i State Department of Health and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete the sampling and testing, isolate the system from fire damaged structures to remove the potential for any contamination, and conduct ongoing water quality sampling and testing at key points throughout the system. The decision to amend the Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahaina was based on multiple lines of evidence collected through this process.

For more information about the Unsafe Water Advisory, the Department of Water Supply's Volatile Organic Compounds investigation, requesting a replacement water meter, next steps, as well as answers to frequently asked questions, go to https://www.mauirecovers.org/water.

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