Opening a well and standpipe facility in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates didn’t bring down water prices enough despite expectations, some area residents told County Council members.
Opening a well and standpipe facility in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates didn’t bring down water prices enough despite expectations, some area residents told County Council members.
Some residents have also been unhappy with how the Department of Water Supply awarded the commercial meters to water haulers. But water haulers told County Council members Tuesday they shouldn’t lose their permits, which they said they applied for and received according to a long-standing procedure.
“It was all done legally,” water hauler Charles Smeade said. “They want a redo. I see possible lawsuits if you redo.”
Steven Iona, another water hauler, said funding for the well came from all over the state, the well is owned by everyone.
“It is not an Ocean View-owned system,” Iona said.
The DWS office opened at 8 a.m. the morning the department began awarding the permits on a first-come, first-served basis.
The Hawaii County Council’s agriculture committee on Tuesday moved forward toward a legislative audit of the Department of Water Supply’s awarding of standpipe meters in Hawaiian Ocean View Estates.
The committee gave a resolution, introduced by Ka‘u Councilwoman Brittany Smart, a positive recommendation, moving the item to the full council’s next meeting. Smart was off-island and could not attend Tuesday’s meeting. Her legislative assistant, Nelson Ho, described some of the reasons Smart introduced the measure.
“I handled many incoming calls from constituents who were upset about the continued high cost for water hauling after the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates standpipe had been activated,” Ho said.
Late Monday, DWS issued a statement alerting island residents that the Board of Water Supply would reconsider the award application process.
“The Department of Water Supply intends to revise the application process and reallocate existing accounts for HOVE standpipe water service,” the statement, provided by spokeswoman Kanani Aton, said. “In consideration of the above, the DWS proposes a lottery system for the HOVE standpipe meters.”
Aton said Tuesday no decision had been made, and the statement only meant the board would hear the public’s input.
DWS Manager Quirino Antonio said the contracts the water haulers signed to get a meter at the standpipe facility allows the department to revoke the contract at any time.
Lowering water rates in Ocean View and the surrounding neighborhoods wasn’t one of the department’s goals in building the well, he said.
“Basically, our goal for building this ocean view water system is to provide a water system in Ocean View,” Antonio said. “This is the first public water system provided in the Hawaii Ocean View subdivision area. We met that goal with this brand new water system.”
The council’s Planning Committee postponed a measure that would allow up to four hens per home on residential lots. Hilo Councilman Donald Ikeda, who introduced the measure, agreed to hold off on discussions until he could address concerns raised by other council members, including requests to set a minimum lot size on which hens could be raised. The committee’s first vote on the measure will be to send it to the county’s two planning commissions before it can return to the council.
The meeting was ongoing as of press time Tuesday.