Posted on: Tuesday, June 3, 2003

Dry summer may trigger water curbs

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Rainfall is down and water use is up, and a forecast for continued dry weather this summer has water agency officials concerned.

On Maui, a drought emergency was declared in December for the Upcountry area and residents have been asked to reduce consumption by 10 percent. Maui Water Supply Director George Tengan said if usage isn't reduced by 10 percent in the next week, mandatory restrictions may be implemented.

At the Kahului airport, only a trace amount of rain — less than .01 of an inch — was recorded in May, said Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Kodama. From January to April, 8.79 inches fell there, compared to the normal 10.30 inches.

On O'ahu, water usage this year is higher than last year. Honolulu Board of Water Supply spokeswoman De-nise DeCosta said 171.63 million gallons per day were pumped for the week ending May 21, compared with 145.68 million gallons the same week last year.

"This is too early in the summer to be pumping 171 million gallons per day," DeCosta said. "Usually that amount is how much we're using in late July or August."

Some of the largest increases have been in Leeward O'ahu, where use increased from 70.78 million gallons a day last year to 77 million gallons this year, and Honolulu, which increased from 32.43 million gallons to 40.6 million gallons.

DeCosta said the public is being asked to conserve water before officials are forced to implement mandatory restrictions. The last time restrictions were in place was 1993, she said.

Honolulu International Airport recorded .09 inches in May, below the normal .78 inches for that month. For the 12-month period ending May 31, only 5.15 inches have fallen, more than three inches less than normal.

For the first four months this year, every rain station on O'ahu except for Hawai'i Kai showed lower-than-normal rainfall.