Rains easing water shortage
By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer
The recent heavy rains have alleviated the state's water supply problems, but rainfall totals for January still are expected to be below average.
Richard Ambo • The Honolulu Advertiser
With only a few days left in the month, National Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Kodama said few areas will see rainfall at or above average for January. He said there are places, such as western Moloka'i, where reservoir levels remain low.
Annie Tisalona, left, and Kamaki Keanu study Ka'alaea Stream in Kahalu'u, which has risen from heavy rains.
Areas that received near-normal rainfall for January include interior sections of O'ahu, such as Nu'uanu, Manoa and Mililani; north and south Kaua'i; and most of Maui and the Big Island, Kodama said. The rain gauge in Nu'uanu registered 10 inches on Saturday, with the average for the month at 12.6 inches, he said.
The much-needed precipitation has led the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to lift the voluntary conservation notice issued last summer. Water levels were so low then that 12 monitoring stations were placed on "caution" status.
When winter rains arrived, seven of the stations had the caution status lifted. Only the Punalu'u station remains on "critical" status.
"Once we wrapped up toward the end of summer, consumption started to level off," said water board spokeswoman Denise DeCosta. "All we wanted to do was make it to the rainy season, and I think we did OK."
DeCosta said this year's rains followed four dry winters. But she cautioned residents to continue conserving water because of the looming El Ni–o weather pattern, which often brings dry conditions.
"All of the water that we keep stored in our aquifers, it's like a bank, so that when we have things happen like El Nino, this storage enables us to provide constant flow of water without serious problems," DeCosta said.
