The importance of critical water infrastructure and systems has been easy to overlook during the ongoing pandemic. When we turn on the tap, we expect clean, fresh water for sanitation and for health care providers to care for patients. Concerns about water quality do not cross our minds, and yet clean water is essential to public health.
A reliable supply of clean water is a commodity we cannot take for granted. Hawaii’s public trust doctrine guarantees our right to have access to water for our benefit, but collecting, treating and distributing water — and fulfilling that right to water — requires constant vigilance and diligence. It is an immense responsibility.
“Imagine a Day Without Water,” an annual recognition on Oct. 21, focuses the nation’s attention on the value of water.
In ancient Hawaii, people were cognizant of how they used water and followed strict kanawai, or laws of water. They were aware that what occurred upstream would affect those downstream. People could draw water from only the upper parts of a stream, while bathing was only allowed downstream. Their insights offer valuable lessons in stewardship for today.
As public servants, we oversee different aspects of water management, in different departments under different roofs from drinking water to storm water and to wastewater, but we are unified in our effort to build resiliency and sustainability by taking care of water at various stages of the water cycle. Drawing upon the wisdom of those from ancient Hawaii, our approach is based on the simple principle of reciprocity: When we take care of a precious resource such as water, it will take care of us. How we value water and respect each other today determines our future.
With Oahu’s population recently topping one million residents, a secure, reliable water supply must be a top priority. The water we drink is the water we treat, and this in turn, is the water that is reused for agriculture. The more nonpotable water we can generate and use, the more potable water we have to meet the needs of our growing population.
Water has no boundaries and defies labels. In the past, water management operated in silos, but this has shifted to integrated approach to water management. “One water” is a concept that many are beginning to understand and appreciate.
The entire never-ending water cycle includes watershed management for aquifer protection and replenishment to water treatment for irrigation and other nonpotable water use to stormwater capture to prevent runoff into our surrounding ocean. With new, cost-effective technology, we will soon be adding desalination capabilities to further enhance our integrated, one-water system.
Protecting our water supply requires not only hard work, but also hard decisions.
Sea level rise creates corrosion of water mains and requires relocation. Drought can affect natural barriers between the surrounding ocean and freshwater aquifers. Extreme weather can increase the volume of rainfall in areas that already have ample water that will lead to more ocean runoff.
These real effects are sobering, but we are preparing for them now. Averting crises is the key. Climate adaptation strategies require prudent capital improvements in anticipation of what’s on the horizon. We can make these decisions and take action now before conditions escalate and the costs for intervention become exorbitant.
It will take a proverbial village to prepare for the future and find viable solutions. The power of collaboration and consensus-building are keys to our resiliency, and this is particularly true with water. Water is life. It nourishes and nurtures us, and it also is calling us to work together, to freely share our manao, and demonstrate our malama, a genuine sense of caring for families today and for future generations.
Ernest Lau is manager/chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply; Roger Babcock Jr. is director/chief engineer of the city Department of Facility Maintenance; Wesley Yokoyama is director of the city Department of Environmental Services.
