From the Hawaii County Department of Water Supply:

HAWAIIAN OCEAN VIEW ESTATES WATER FACILITIES PROJECT
Information Sheet

Project Status
At this time, all major components of project construction are complete except the electrical work at the well site. The Contractor is continuing to work with HELCO to resolve issues that arose when power was supplied to the site. Until these issues are resolved the following work remains on hold:
• Operational testing
• Water quality sampling, testing, and reporting
• New drinking water source approvals

Though the Department is in close communication with partner agencies to expedite the necessary paperwork for this well, the new drinking water source approval process normally takes up to three months.

At the Water Board of the County of Hawaii monthly meeting on September 27, 2011, the Water Board gave approval of an agreement with the County of Hawaii to allow the Dept. of Water Supply to operate, maintain, and collect user fees for this system. Availability of standpipe account applications will be announced after new drinking water source approvals are complete. At that time, the Dept. will announce the date and time that applications will be accepted. Customer Service staff will designate a reasonably accessible location in the HOVE community for applicants to come and sign up for a meter.

Interested applicants will need to provide billing information (such as driver’s license, state or military ID, etc…) as well as pay applicable fees and a deposit if necessary. Water haulers applying for meters may contact customer service at 961-8060 for further information.

At the same September Water Board meeting, the Dept. was authorized to enter into an agreement with the Ocean View Community Association regarding the need to open and close the facility gate. Since then, the HOVE Road Maintenance Association Corporation provided rules regarding traveling times for large trucks to access the community roads. With this information, the Dept. needs to meet with the Community Association to see what can be done about the final gate hours.

There will be another meeting with the HOVE community on December 14, 2011 at the Community Center to discuss the above information.

Project Overview
This publicly funded $6 million project establishes a basic drinking water system complete with a well, storage tank, transmission pipeline, and fill station for the Ocean View community. To ensure encumbrance of State funds within a very short legislative timeline of 2 years, this project was procured as design-build that was executed in two phases: Phase 1, “Exploratory Well Development,” and Phase 2, “Production Well Development.” Phase 1 work entailed:

• Phase 1 consultant procurement
• Acquisition of land and easement for the well-site, waterline and fill station
• Completion of an Environmental Assessment
• Completion of the exploratory well design
• Installation of required equipment and ancillary facilities to complete the exploratory well
• Completion of a conceptual design of Phase 2
• Conduct and Report on tests on the well, which would ultimately determine whether or not the well is suited to meet the needs of the project.

The second phase (Phase 2), “Production Well Development,” is ongoing at this time. This work entails the following:
• Complete 30% of the Phase 2 (Production Well) design and send out a Request for Proposals to all Contractors
• Hire a contractor to complete this phase within the budgeted amount, including completion of the remaining 70% of the design based on the tests results of the closeout of Phase 1
• Obtain all necessary approvals, permits, etc…for the final design
• Utilizing the final design, construct the facilities according to the plans, permits.

About the Dept. of Water Supply
The Department of Water Supply is a semi-autonomous agency of the County of Hawaii which operates by rules and regulations adopted by the Water Board. As a semi-autonomous agency, the Department operates and maintains its water systems with revenues generated wholly through water sales. The primary function of the Department is to provide safe domestic water service through its 24 water systems and 67 sources scattered throughout the island. The individual water systems are not interconnected except in the more densely populated districts of South Hilo and Kona.

The Department continually strives to provide dependable, high quality, potable water at a reasonable cost

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the issues with power for this project?
Through constant communication between the Dept., the Contractor, and HELCO, the following information is the latest update as of December 13, 2011: the equipment to operate the pump requires 3-phase power from HELCO. HELCO designed and installed the required line extensions and appurtenances to bring power to the site; however, as soon as the site obtained power, a representative for the pump manufacturer noticed a discrepancy in the voltages between each leg of the 3-phase power. Although it meets the tariffs that HELCO follows, the discrepancy is too large for our equipment and as such will automatically shut down or burn the motor of the pump. The Contractor has proceeded to operate the pump, under the guidance of the pump manufacturer, and bring water to the surface; however, shortly after doing so, the pump systematically shuts down to preserve the equipment.

Currently, HELCO has been making adjustments to their system based on information gathered from recordings taken at the site over a period of time, as well as when the pump is turned on. Work to help “balance” the voltages for our equipment is ongoing and will probably take HELCO until the beginning of January as Ocean View has approximately 800 transformers in the area that may need to be adjusted.

Why not run the well on a generator to pull up water samples so the drinking water approval process
can begin while troubleshooting the power issues?
The pump motor is 125 hp and 22.4 Amps. DWS does not have funding to mobilize and operate a large generator for the equipment installed. Housed in 20 foot containers, DWS owned generators require semi-trucks and extensive resources to demobilize, move, and operate. Furthermore, these generators are currently installed and secured at designated sites around the island as backup power for use in emergencies.

Why is a gate-agreement with the Community Association needed?
A gate is required given the close proximity of the fill station to adjacent residential properties. Wording in the project environmental assessment refers to the need for a gate as well. If the Department were to manage the gate, it would open/close within our operation hours of 6:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Why is the fill station entryway designed like that?
In terms of the design, the real intent of facilities like this is to provide potable water as needed for members of the public who typically rely on water catchment systems. The standpipes are also intended for the public benefit although water haulers are the main users of these facilities. For the HOVE Water Facilities entryway of the fill station, it is designed as such because of the tight budget the Contractor had to work with to complete a design, construct a functioning water system and a fill station. The “cut and fill” of the driveway and site was designed to minimize “cutting” into the existing embankment and stabilizing it to avoid a steeper incline/decline for the large and heavy water trucks expected to utilize the site. Furthermore, spigot/standpipe sites at alternate locations with similar use have for the most part functioned as needed, with occasional traffic congestion. In those cases, the sites are typically smaller with less capacity than what this station is designed to handle.

Finally, access to these drinking water sites may be needed by the larger public in emergency situations.

How many spigots will be available for the public to use?
The main intent of the spigots is to provide members of the public access to potable water for residential use and allow them to fill up typical drinking water containers. There are 6 spigots for this use. The water will be paid for with funds from the County of Hawaii, Department of Public Works Budget, which in essence means the water bill is paid for by all who pay County taxes.

Is there a limit on the amount of water that can be taken at the spigot?
Currently, there is no limit to the amount of water that can be taken at a spigot; however, the intent is for the public to fill “typical” drinking water containers for consumption.

What kind of water treatment will be used for this source?
Chlorine water treatment is will be used for this source.

Why not sign up haulers for accounts now instead of later?
Applicants are required to invest money into obtaining a meter. If the Dept. were to accept applications at this time, their monies would be deposited by the Dept. and the customer’s funds would be stalled for the duration of the remaining work left to be done on this project. Until a definite timeline on the solution for power is determined, the Dept. will hold off on accepting applications for the 10 water hauling meters. When the drinking water approval process is underway and nearly complete, sign up for applications will be announced in the newspapers, on the Dept. website, and at a future community meeting.