Posted on: Tuesday, June 8, 2004
Tankers providing additive-free water to Upcountry Maui
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Bound by a requirement that phosphoric acid be added to the Upcountry water supply to reduce lead leaching, Maui County has started using tanker trucks to provide phosphate-free drinking water to residents who want it.
Mayor Alan Arakawa announced yesterday that the Department of Water Supply is placing 400-gallon tankers at community centers in Ha'iku, Pukalani, Makawao and Kula. He said the move will allow Upcountry residents to draw phosphate-free water close to their homes and not have to drive to Central Maui to get it. "We will continue to supply this water to our Upcountry communities as long as necessary," Arakawa said.
Sharon Elston, who hauls water up from Central Maui to her Pukalani home every other day, applauded the move, saying she thinks hundreds of Upcountry residents will take advantage of phosphate-free water.
Authorities have received more than 150 complaints about skin rashes and other health-related problems that residents claim are linked to the Upcountry water system. The complaints started after June 2001, when the water department, as directed by the state, began adding zinc orthophosphate, a compound designed to control high levels of lead caused by leaching of pipes in older homes.
Responding to public pressure last year, the water department switched to phosphoric acid, but the complaints persisted.
Arakawa last month said he would prefer to discontinue use of the chemical additive, but he didn't want to risk $25,000-a-day fines for disobeying the state, which acts under U.S. Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
Water department spokeswoman Jacky Takakura said officials are exploring the possibility of switching the additive again, this time to soda ash, a move that would adjust the water's acidity and possibly reduce its lead content. A consultant is conducting a study to determine which soda ash concentrations will work. (Soda ash was added to the water previously, but at lower concentrations.)
Meanwhile, Dr. Lorrin Pang, the state health administrator on Maui, is planning a "blind" study in which 50 homes are given water with phosphoric acid for three weeks and water without the chemical for another three weeks. The participants will not know when their water has the phosphoric acid. The $50,000 study likely will start within a month, Pang said, but it could be rendered useless if the department makes the additive switch.
A Florida engineering firm also has been hired to look at potential problems systemwide, conduct testing of residential plumbing and come up with a plan.
The studies are being paid for with $500,000 in special EPA money.
As for the tankers, each truck will be filled with chlorinated drinking water drawn from the water department baseyard in Kahului. Officials are asking that residents take only the water they need. The tankers will be checked weekday mornings.
Consumers should bring their own containers, and officials advised that some of the community centers lock their gates at night. Consumers are asked to call (808) 270-7633 to report empty tankers, suspicious activity or abusive use of water.
Reach Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
