Posted on: Tuesday, July 31, 2001

Editorial
Nature's sweet gift must not be wasted

What with washing cars, soaking lawns and hosing the driveway, many O'ahu residents might have been too busy this past weekend to read a rather alarming story by staff writer Dan Nakaso.

Nakaso reported that uncommonly dry weather and unusually high water use have put O'ahu's water system uncomfortably close to the danger point.

That danger point is when more water is sucked out of Oahu's wells than is put back into them by rain and recycling. Eventually, this draws the fresh-water level down to the point where salt water intrudes.

The Honolulu Board of Water Supply has urged residential and commercial customers to cut back water use — particularly through the dry summer months. But the message doesn't seem to get through. Water use is actually up over last year, which in itself was a record year for consumption.

In the long run, O'ahu will convert more of its overall water supply to reused sewage and irrigation water and even conversion of saltwater to fresh. But these alternatives are still a long way off and inevitably will cost consumers more.

Our best source of water is the existing system of wells and catchments in which nature's bounty, through rainfall, is captured and filtered by our volcanic islands. It is a sweet and natural gift that must be used wisely.