Posted on: Friday, April 1, 2005
State's need to conserve water remains critical
| • | Chart: Rainy seasons from 1997-2005 |
| • | Water-saving tips |
By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer
O'ahu, like most of the rest of the state, has gotten more than its share of water in the last couple of rainy seasons, but the Board of Water Supply says that doesn't mean it is time to stop conserving.
"We are not out of the woods yet," said Chester Lao, a Honolulu Board of Water Supply hydrologist and geologist. "We've been drawing on storage in the aquifer for a while now, and you do not make that up in one or two years."
Although neither the water supply board nor the National Weather Service want to officially declare an end to the five-year drought that parched the islands and brought O'ahu drinking water supplies to near nail-biting lows, both say this winter and last winter have brought above-average rainfall to most areas.
"There is not really one set point when a drought is on or when a drought is off," said National Weather Service hydrologist Kevin Kodama. "Gov. Linda Lingle did issue a declaration of drought (in August 2003), but that was just for federal funding, and it started raining right after that."
Kodama said the winters of 2003-04 and 2004-05 saw rainfall totals significantly higher than normal.
By contrast, the wet seasons in the previous five years barely recorded 40 percent of normal levels for most years.
The years of drought have one positive outcome: for many, water conservation is becoming a fact of life.
"I think most people don't want to waste water," said Michael T. Jones, a Pearl City resident and neighborhood board member.
Jones said he has made conservation a habit, and thinks he sees the same tendencies in his neighbors.
"I use only one bucket of water to wash the car and just do a quick rinse," he said. "We use the low cycle on the dishwasher and we make sure we have a full load before we do the laundry."
Irrigation, a problem area for water conservation in Hawaii, hasn't been a problem at all recently, Jones said.
"I don't water the lawn at all," he said. "I haven't done that for a long time. The rain takes care of it."
Lao, of the water supply board, said as the islands became dryer, residents, businesses and farmers responded by using more water, drawing deeper and deeper into the natural aquifer.
By January 2001, at the height of the drought, water use on O'ahu was 155 million gallons per day, he said. Water use for the past two Januarys has dropped to 132 million gallons per day.
Cutting back on usage is helping to keep the fresh-water supply from falling any closer to sea level, he said, but it isn't replacing all the extra water that was drawn out during five years of drought.
"It'll take close to five years or thereabouts to restore the water we've used," he said.
And that, he said, is assuming that everything else remains fairly consistent. Moving back into a low rainfall period would make it longer, he said. Drastic increases in population, he said, could have an effect.
Kodama of the National Weather Service compared the situation to handling a bank account. You can handle a temporary pay cut and maintain your standard of living for awhile by drawing on savings, he said, but at some point your savings falls dangerously low, and it is time to concentrate on spending less.
Reach Karen Blakeman at 535-2430 or kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.
| WATER-SAVING TIPS
• Check your toilet for leaks. Put a few drops of food coloring in your toilet tank. If the coloring appears in the toilet bowl without flushing, you have a leak that should be repaired. Savings: possibly hundreds of gallons. • Keep a container of drinking water in the refrigerator. Running the tap to cool the water for drinking uses 3 gallons per minute. • Check for leaks in outdoor faucets, pipes and plumbing fixtures at least once each month. To check for leaking pipes, listen for the sound of running water, or look for unexplained ponding of water near pipes. Close all water outlets (faucets and taps) and check your water meter. Lift the meter cover and observe: if the reading dials show movement, you may have a hidden leak that needs repair. Savings: thousands of gallons per month. • Water your lawn on calm days to avoid loss of sprinkler water to strong winds. • Choose "unthirsty" plants, which need less water to grow. Local university extension service county agents or neighborhood garden shops can tell you which plants are drought-resistant. • Water lawn during the early morning or evening to minimize evaporation. • Check sprinkler systems for leaks, adjust sprinkler heads to eliminate over-spray. • Install a sub-meter to your garden hose to measure and control water usage. • Report leaks in fire hydrants and other public facilities. For more tips, go to www.hbws.org and click on "conservation." Source: The Honolulu Board of Water Supply |
