Water board may enlarge tank
By Suzanne Roig
Advertiser East Honolulu Writer
WAI'ALAE IKI — The Board of Water Supply is considering increasing the size of the water tank near Kalani High School to ease a shortage of reservoirs and address a 55 million gallon storage deficit in the Honolulu service area.
The 20-foot high, 98-foot wide reservoir has a 1 million gallon capacity, said Scot Muraoka, a Board of Water Supply civil engineer with the water resources unit. Plans call for a 4 million gallon reservoir that is 20 feet high and 188 feet in diameter. No timetable has been set for construction and no price has been attached to the project.
The plans were presented recently before the Kuliou'ou/Kalani Iki Neighborhood Board, whose members had reservations about the proposal.
The larger reservoir would create a visual blight on a hillside that is known to be unstable, said board member Sheridan Spangler.
"To me it's nerve-wracking that it's even there and it's not buffered by landscaping," Spangler said. "We have grave concerns about it."
Soil instability has been on many residents' minds as boulders have fallen in recent months in Wilhelmina Rise, Hawai'i Kai and Nu'uanu.
There are an estimated 20 water reservoirs around the Honolulu district — which spans from Hawai'i Kai to Salt Lake — that average in size from 1 million gallons to 4 million gallons, Muraoka said. Muraoka said, that while users have no problem getting water right now, increasing storage will help assure availability and stabilize water pressure.
The Board of Water Supply also is looking at expanding reservoirs at Diamond Head, Punchbowl, Kalani Iki, Halawa and Salt Lake, he said. But those sites have limited land for expansion.
Water officials say the site above Kalani High School is the best because the Board of Water Supply owns the land, about 30 acres. The water tank was built in the 1930s, when East Honolulu was mostly farm land with a few houses sprinkled around.
The Board of Water Supply is conducting a rockslide study, which should be done by the end of March. Later, soil surveys, archaeological, topographic and flood control surveys will be done. In addition, it will evaluate the feasibility of burying or shielding the reservoir with berms, Muraoka said.
"I don't have any objection to it, provided they don't charge us more for the construction costs," said Mark Terry, chairman of the neighborhood board. "If they planted tall trees around it, I don't think it would be a problem at all."
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com or 395-8831.
