Question: I swear there have been a dozen water main breaks/outages where I live. Is there any way to track this? A public database or something? We should be able to search records and see how our neighborhood compares to other parts of the island. Who keeps track of this?
Answer: The Honolulu Board of Water Supply documents every water main break within its jurisdiction, but it doesn’t maintain a searchable, public database, according to a spokeswoman.
However, with internet access you can compile the data yourself, using public information included in the minutes of the monthly BWS board of directors meetings. Water main breaks are reported at the monthly meetings, and minutes from meetings the past five years are posted on the agency’s website.
Go to 808ne.ws/bwsmtgs for minutes of board meetings held in 2017. You can access previous years’ minutes from that webpage as well, by clicking on the arrow next to the “Board Meetings” link on the right side of the page. A pull-down menu should display the years 2013 through 2017.
Click on the year and then the month you wish to check. Once you have selected a specific set of minutes, scroll through until you see the “Water Main Repair Report.” This report, compiled for every board meeting, reflects repairs for the previous month; the document usually appears near the end of the minutes.
For example, the Water Main Repair Report recorded in the minutes of the Sept. 25 board meeting (the most recent available online) lists 41 water main repairs on Oahu in August. That’s the most in any single month for the past five years. Seven of those repairs occurred in Kaneohe, where you said you live.
Information listed in the monthly reports includes the location of the water main repair, by street address and city; the date it occurred; and the size and type of pipe involved. There’s also a running tally of water main breaks islandwide for the past five years, by month. The tally includes only the number of repairs, not their locations. In fiscal year 2016-17, for example, a total of 346 water main repairs were reported; June was the worst month, with 40.
Although time-consuming, combing the minutes should provide the information you seek. If you have further questions, contact the Board of Water Supply directly by calling 748-5041 or emailing contactus@hbws.org.
And if some other reader or organization has already compiled this information in a way that is easily accessible by the general public, please let Kokua Line know. We’ll share the site or link.
Q: You cited the state law against taking sand from beaches, but isn’t there a city law too? The state law only applies as far as the highest wash of the waves.
A: Yes. It is illegal to remove any wood, plant, grass, soil, rock, sand or gravel from a city park, except as authorized by permits, per Revised Ordinances of Honolulu Sec. 10-1.2(b)(1).
Q: I thought you could take a bucket a day of sand from the beach.
A: No, state law was amended in 2013 to repeal that provision. We’ve heard from other readers unaware of the change, which we mentioned Oct. 9 (808ne.ws/oct9KL).
Mahalo
Thank you to T. Lin at the state Department of Taxation on Punchbowl Street. We had a problem due to a numerical error on our excise tax form. We tried to fix it with phone calls, paper forms and emails but failed. We went down to the Punchbowl office and met Ms. Lin. She patiently and kindly explained and helped us through the process. It relieved so much anxiety and stress for this thankful kupuna. Many blessings to this sympathetic, conscientious worker. — From Kapahulu granny
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
