At a Board of Water Supply meeting yesterday, the panel changed a 30-day waiver for agricultural water users to 60 days.

The move, which was called a correction to the declaration of drought warning, is aimed to give farmers a chance to harvest crops already growing and to make better decisions about whether to replant.

Yesterday, board member Michael Howden pointed out his motion during a June 12 board meeting calling for a drought warning that would give agricultural customers a 60-day waiver from cutbacks instead of the shorter time period announced last week. His motion also allowed farmers to apply for an exemption in cases of hardship.

Water Director Jeffrey Eng agreed with giving farmers more time.

"We certainly want to support our farmers," he said.

The 10 percent cutback for farmers will go into effect Aug. 13, unless weather conditions change, according to the Department of Water Supply.

The mandatory reduction in water use remains in effect for other Upcountry customers.

Under the department's rules, mandatory water cutbacks can be enforced by the removal of water meters for violators, with a $50 assessment fee to reinstall a meter. That step has not been taken in past droughts, but Eng pledged that the department would enforce the reduction in water usage.

Water levels in Upcountry reservoirs remained low and were being supplied with water pumped uphill from the Kamole Weir, which receives water from the Wailoa Ditch, according to Jacky Takakura, water department administrative officer.

"We're still not getting much inflow" of water into the Piiholo and Kahakapao reservoirs, she said. Those reservoirs held 35 million gallons and 32 mg of water, respectively.

The ditch was running at 51 million gallons per day on Wednesday. Its daily maximum capacity is 199 mg.