(BIVN) – The Hawaiʻi County Department of Water Supply on Friday urged customers who “depend on a continuous supply of DWS water to review their personal situations and prepare accordingly” in case of extended power outages.

The news release followed a Hawaiian Electric statement on Thursday, letting its power customers know to “prepare for heavy rains and winds impacting Oʻahu, Maui County, Hawaiʻi island on Friday and Saturday.”

The lower elevations of Hawaiʻi island are currently under a Wind Advisory, the National Weather Service says.

“We take the threat of severe weather seriously and we want to reassure our customers that we’re ready to respond,” said Darren Pai, Hawaiian Electric spokesman. “We ask that they check their preparations at their homes and businesses in case they experience any outages or other emergencies.”

The Hawaiian Electric news release also served as an opportunity to inform customers that “due to our enhanced wildfire safety protocols, outages in areas designated by the state as at-risk for wildfires may experience longer outages.”

The utility said “it may be necessary to conduct visual or aerial inspections to ensure that power may be safely restored, a process that can be time consuming, especially in rural or mountainous areas.”

The Department of Water Supply on Friday provided this information:

The Department of Water Supply (DWS), County of Hawai‘i, requires a significant amount of dependable electricity to move approximately 25 million gallons of water each day and deliver it to more than 45,000 homes, businesses, farms, and community facilities located throughout much of Hawai‘i Island.

Hawaiian Electric issued a statement urging its customers to prepare for heavy rains and winds expected to impact Hawai‘i Island through the weekend. “During severe weather, strong winds can blow trees or debris into power lines, causing outages and damaging electrical equipment. Falling trees can hit utility poles or overhead lines, knocking lines down or causing poles to lean, which may result in outages. Heavy rains can also lead to flooding of underground cables or other equipment,” Hawaiian Electric said in the statement. Outages in areas designated by the State as at-risk for fires may experience longer outages due to the possible need to conduct visual or aerial inspections before power may be safely restored, it added.

DWS utilizes backup generators at key well sites to help maintain a limited amount of water service during temporary power outages, however, an extended power outage could leave portions of DWS’ water systems empty and customers with no water. Should this scenario be anticipated, DWS will instruct its affected customers to use their tap water only for drinking, cooking, and hygiene purposes to preserve the limited amount of available potable water. Irrigation, car washing, and non-essential uses of water would be suspended until power is restored.

DWS strongly urges its customers and those who depend on a continuous supply of DWS water to review their personal situations and prepare accordingly. Customers should have alternate sources of potable water and enough supply to meet their essential needs during a prolonged power outage that disrupts DWS service. Ways to safely store drinking water are listed in the Water Emergency Preparedness guide available under the “Community” drop-down menu option on the Department’s website, hawaiidws.org.

Updated messaging will be posted at hawaiidws.org and on the DWS Facebook page at facebook.com/HawaiiDWS. To reach the DWS, please call (808) 961-8050 during normal business hours, (808) 961-8790 for after-hour emergencies, or email: dws@hawaiidws.org.