Kula Water Restoration Underway, All Main Line Breaks Repaired
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Parts of Kula remain without water this evening, but could have service restored by tonight into tomorrow, barring any further breaks to water lines, according to officials with the County of Maui Department of Water Supply.
The outages occurred following heavy rains brought by the passing of Kona Low system over Maui County on Sunday night into Monday.
Multiple breaks, including approximately 80 feet of 12” waterline, were reported in difficult-to-reach locations on Monday. A separate main water break affecting Upper Kula was reported on Tuesday, in the Hāpapa Gulch near Pūlehu Road. Repair crews were tasked with constructing a trestle to access the 12-inch pipe. The crew ran an 8-inch pipe across the gulch, using a helicopter to move the pipe and other materials into place, according to county officials.
DWS Administrative Officer Adam Mundy tells Maui Now that as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, all known main line breaks were repaired, and crews are now working on the flushing process.
“We are flushing the lines to get all the dirty water out… Then we have to make sure there’s a proper level of disinfectant,” said Mundy. “When that’s done, crews work to charge the line to make sure it can hold the pressure, and then slowly refill the tanks.”
According to Mundy, the process is a slow one with one tank taking about six hours to refill. With about three tanks affected in the Kula area, pressurization and testing for leaks will continue overnight.
“Affected residents should be seeing at least low pressure this evening into early hours of morning until the lines fully stabilize,” said Mundy.
Hundreds of residents were affected by intermittent outages since Sunday including pockets in Lower and Upper Kula including the Haleakalā Acres subdivision.
County officials say the process is continual until full restoration is completed.
Residents in the lower elevation will see a resumption of service first, and as the lines pressurize, the higher elevations will begin to see a resumption of service.
As of 6 p.m. on Thursday, some residents in Upper Kula who were without water for the last four days were reporting a return of water to their homes.
When water service is restored, residents and businesses may experience brown water. They should flush their waterlines until water runs clear. For emergency repairs and updates call 808-270-7633.