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The Honolulu Advertiser

Updated at 4:28 p.m., Monday, May 14, 2007

City gets EPA safe drinking water award

Advertiser Staff

The City and County of Honolulu was presented with the 2006 Hawai'i Drinking Water State Revolving Fund Project of the Year Award, a news release said.

The award, presented by the Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Health, recognizes projects that use state funds on projects that rank high on the public health benefits priority list and comply with the Safe Water Drinking Act.

The award recognizes Honolulu Board of Water Supply projects totaling more than $28 million. They include:

  • Replacing a water well in Waimanalo that has been closed due to contamination from the pesticide Alachlor.

  • Building a treatment facility in 'Ewa to remove pesticides from a new leeward O'ahu water source that was used for sugar cane irrigation. The effort would benefit over 173,000 residents. Another treatment facility will be built in Kunia to remove elevated nitrates from a central O'ahu well.

  • An ongoing effort to replace the aging water supply system in 'Ewa Beach and Wahiawa.

    "We are pleased to honor the Honolulu Board of Water Supply for its work on five projects that will supply safe drinking water to over a million people," said Wayne Nastri, administrator of the EPA's Pacific Southwest region.

    "These projects will protect and improve drinking water for Oahu residents, and the Department of Health is pleased to assist the BWS financially," said Larry Lau, Deputy Director for DOH's Environmental Health Administration in a news release.

    "While we may differ on some matters, this award demonstrates that the city can indeed work with the EPA," said Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann in a news release.