Unsafe Water Advisory lifted for area L-6B in Lahaina

The Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahaina was amended to remove area L-6B, including properties primarily along Honoapiʻilani Highway and Ainakea Road, from Wahikuli Road to Kaniau Road. Water serving buildings and homes in area L-6B is declared safe for unrestricted use effective June 12, 2024.

The announcement was made Wednesday evening by County of Maui Department of Water Supply Deputy Director Kimo Landgraf during the County of Maui’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Update Meeting at the Lahaina Civic Center social hall.

Residents can search their address using the interactive Water Advisory Map on the County’s Maui Recovers website at www.mauirecovers.org/water to confirm whether their address is in an advisory area.

Water may have stagnated in the plumbing of homes and buildings within the L-6B area, so the Department of Water Supply recommends customers flush their lines to remove any standing water in plumbing and pipes. Lines can be flushed by opening valves and letting the faucets run for at least 10 minutes.

Areas L-5, L-6 and L-6A of the fire-impacted area in Lahaina remain under the Unsafe Water Advisory until further notice. Customers within the advisory area should continue to NOT drink or boil their tap water. 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. Customers in the advisory area are also advised to limit water use for hygiene purposes such as showers. Failure to follow the advisory could result in illness.

The Unsafe Water Advisory was issued Aug. 11, 2023, as a precautionary measure due to the unknown impacts of the August 2023 Maui wildfires on the drinking water system in the area. Structures in the water system were destroyed by the fire, and some areas in the system experienced water pressure loss. These conditions may have caused harmful contaminants to enter the water system.

The County Department of Water Supply has been working closely with the Hawai`i State Department of Health and US Environmental Protection Agency to complete its Volatile Organic Compound investigation, isolate the system from fire damaged structures to ensure minimal potential from any contamination, and conduct ongoing water quality sampling and testing at key points throughout the system. The decision to amend the Unsafe Water Advisory for Lahaina was based on multiple lines of evidence collected through this process.

For more information about the Unsafe Water Advisory, the Department of Water Supply’s VOC investigation, as well as answers to frequently asked questions, visit mauirecovers.org/recovery/water.