Maui County lifts unsafe water advisory for Lahaina ahead of one year mark

On Friday, Maui County lifted an unsafe water advisory that had been in place for nearly a year for parts of hard-hit Lahaina town after the Aug. 8 wildfire disaster, Department of Water Supply Deputy Director James “Kimo” Landgraf announced.

Following positive water quality lab results, the notice that domestic water supplies are now safe for drinking and other uses affects Lahaina properties from Wahikuli to Puamana, Landgraf told reporters, who were on a tour of Lahaina burn zone areas Friday as the wildfire one-year mark approaches.

“As of today, all of Lahaina will be lifted,” he said. “There will no longer be an unsafe water advisory, and all the water will be back to drinking water standards. So, that’s a really huge milestone.”

Immediately after the fire, no one knew how long it will take to bring safe drinking water back to all of Lahaina, Landgraf said. “But everybody was really diligent, and you’re out here every day, working to try and bring the system back as quickly as possible.”

The work took nearly a year because the Water Department needed to assess and test about 26 miles of water mains and more than 1,500 service laterals, Landgraf said. Nine hundred were sampled and tested, and 850 were contaminated and needed to be cut and capped to protect the water system.

The US Environmental Protection Agency assisted with the largest and most heavily damaged areas “L5” and “L6,” he said.

Department of Environmental Management Wastewater Division Chief Eric Nakagawa said the Wastewater Division is flushing sewer lines and using closed-circuit TV camera systems to assess wastewater lines within fire-impacted areas.

And, the county is repairing and replacing underground lines to eliminate and/or minimize groundwater infiltration and allow connections to the county sewer system, he said.

Nakagawa said the Lahaina wastewater system “took a significant hit” during the wildfire, but it was difficult to quantify the extent of damage.

For wastewater service status for areas of Lahaina, visit Mauirecovers.org here.

The news of work to restore water and wastewater service in Lahaina comes as Maui County, state and federal partners reported making progress in clearing and removing fire debris, building temporary housing and in helping residents to start rebuilding their homes on properties that came within the path of the fast-moving blaze that swept through Lahaina town Aug. 8-9, 2023.

The return of water service helps Lahaina residents such as Komo Mai Street resident Kari Alexander, who either lost their homes in the wildfire or have not been able to return to them.

Alexander spoke with reporters Friday morning in front of her property where her home was destroyed, but now a new home is under construction and nearing completion. In May, Alexander and husband, Rich, were the first homeowners to receive a building permit for a home destroyed in the wildfire.

Alexander said she and her husband applied for a building permit as soon as possible and were persistent in following up on progress with the permit. In the meantime, she said her family, which includes twin 19-year-olds (a boy and girl), has been fortunate to find housing at the Kahoma Village Subdivision.

As the Aug. 8 anniversary approaches, Alexander said she’s unsure what she’ll do that day to mark a year since the wildfire disaster.

“I’m probably gonna be at work (at Sullivan Properties) with the other members of my office,” she said. “There’s seven of us, and we all lost our homes. So, we’ll be at work.”

“Everybody’s gonna reflect differently,” she said. “I won’t know until then. I’m sure I’ll have plenty of emotions… I don’t think it’ll be a day like any other day.”

While progress is being marked with rebuilding, the Lahaina town burn zone remains off limits.

However, parts of Lahaina town are expected to reopen to the general public, in phases, as early as September, said Laksmi Abraham, Maui County director of Communications and Government Affairs.