TGI STAFF Until a well with a failed pump is fixed, water will be more precious than usual in Kilauea for the next week or so. The well is one of two that serve the area. The other one is
TGI STAFF
Until a well with a failed pump is fixed, water will be more precious than usual in Kilauea for the next week or so.
The well is one of two that serve the area. The other one is functioning fully, but that’s not enough water to easily cover all of Kilauea’s residential, agricultural and business needs, said Ed Tschupp, assistant manager of the Kaua’i County Department of Water.
There’s an adequate supply for basic needs such as drinking, cooking and bathroom uses, but “on hot days, we need more than one well,” Tschupp said. So until both wells are in use again, customers are asked to conserve water by cutting back on washing cars, watering lawns and other non-essential uses, he said.
Officials discovered Monday morning that the pump had failed in one of the wells serving approximately 1,200 metered connections. The entire pump will be replaced, a process that will take an estimated 10 days while equipment arrives from off-island and the old pump, including its 450-feet-long column, are removed from the well shaft.
The water department can be contacted at 245-5455.
