Maui County lifts more of Lahaina from unsafe water advisory
Maui County today lifted two more fire-impacted areas of Lahaina from an unsafe water advisory that has been in place since August following the deadly wildfires.
Effective today, water-serving areas L-3A and L-3B have been declared safe for unrestricted use, according to the county’s Department of Water Supply. Areas L-4A through L-6 of Lahaina, however, remain under the unsafe water advisory until further notice.
Because water may have stagnated in plumbing, the department recommends L-3A and L-3B customers flush their lines by opening valves and letting faucets run for at least 10 minutes.
The county first issued the unsafe water advisory on Aug. 11 due to the unknown impacts of the Aug. 8 wildfires. The fires destroyed the water system in Upper Kula and Lahaina resulting in potential contaminants in the drinking water system.
Since then, the Maui Department of Water Supply has worked closely with the state Health Department and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate and isolate the system from fire-damaged structures to ensure the minimal potential for contamination.
The department has over the past few weeks lifted all of Upper Kula and Lahaina areas L-1 and L-2 from the water advisory.
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Community members who are unsure of whether they are under advisory can search for their address on the interactive Water Advisory Map.
“Customers within the advisory area should continue to NOT drink or boil their tap water,” said the county. “Boiling, freezing, filtering, adding chlorine or other disinfectants or letting water stand will not make the water safe. Bottled water or potable water provided by the County of Maui must be used for drinking (including making baby formula and juice), brushing teeth, making ice, and food preparation.”
Additionally, customers under advisory should limit water use for hygiene purposes such as showers, and know that failure to follow it could result in illness.
The department said it will continue water quality sampling and testing at key points throughout the system.
Visit mauirecovers.org/recovery/utilities for more details.
