#drinking water

County of Maui Department of Water Supply is continuing its community meetings on the future of Maui island’s drinking water supply with six in-person events in May. DWS is partnering with national nonprofit US Water Alliance to facilitate the meetings, which will help shape Maui’s water future.

County of Maui Department of Water Supply is inviting the community to attend an online meeting Thursday, April 24, 2025, from noon to 1 p.m. The meeting will introduce County partner US Water Alliance, a national nonprofit that will hold in-person events next month that focus on Maui island drinking water supply.

A pilot program is now in place, providing water-from-air generators, water bottles, and UV lights and replacement filters to the Hawai’i Technology Academy. It’s part of a larger program to bring clean drinking water to schools all over the Island. The announcement was made by the nonprofit Eye of the Needle Holistic Living organization.

The US Environmental Protection Agency recently completed its Drinking Water and Wastewater mission in Lahaina as part of a multi-agency emergency response to the 2023 Maui wildfires. This mission is helping the County of Maui restore drinking water and wastewater services to the community in the wildfire-impacted areas of Lahaina.

Residents are encouraged to attend the County of Maui’s Weekly Disaster Recovery Community Update Meeting at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, June 12, in the Lahaina Civic Center social hall.

The meeting will feature an update on Lahaina Harbor from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, an update on debris clearing from the US Army Corps of Engineers and information on the status of drinking water sampling from the US Environmental Protection Agency.

A year ago today, nearly 700 gallons of diesel fuel spilled at the Maui Space Surveillance Complex at Haleakalā’s summit. Since then Air Force reports its officials have worked with the Maui community and Native Hawaiian organizations to remediate the site.

The Hawaiʻi State Department of Health indicated the detection of 2,4-D did not make the water unsafe as the levels of 2,4-D were well below the EPA and State Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) of 70 parts per billion (ppb), and no 2,4-D has been detected in the bracket samples. 

Recommendations include: extra training for personnel responding to residents’ questions and concerns; development of pamphlets outlining sampling and testing processes and use of the JBPHH Safe Waters website; and a plan to extend the LTM program beyond its originally planned end date of March 2024. 

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health was informed late Wednesday night that 12 Navy water system users reported symptoms they had attributed to exposure to tap water.

The team has collected water samples from Kula and Lahaina that are being tested for contaminants in labs on Maui and Oʻahu. Ten samples had been tested as of Aug. 27 and about 60 more are headed to the labs.

To ensure the water at Hawai‘i public schools and child care facilities is safe to drink, the state will launch a joint project to test tap water at selected schools and child care facilities for the presence of lead.

The Department of Water Supply is seeking public input on the Wellhead Protection project on Lanai.  The project was initiated to protect the wells that supply drinking water to the community. Drinking water wells can become contaminated by common activities such as pouring motor oil and household chemicals down drains, using too much pesticides or […]

Businesses on Molokai are taking extra steps to conserve water as tank repairs continue. In an effort to avoid unnecessary water use, Molokai Pizza Café manager Regan DeGeorge says the business turned off its ice cream machine and is using paper products to reduce water use for washing dishes. Residents of Kalae and Kaunakakai on […]