February 13, 2025
NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Water Supply Apologizes for the Unexpected Water Shutoff in Waiakea Uka
The Department of Water Supply (DWS), County of Hawai‘i, sincerely apologizes to its customers and the general public for the unexpected water shutoff that affected the Waiakea Uka area of Hilo from approximately Ainalako Road up to Kupulau Road, including surrounding areas, on the morning of Wednesday, February 12th.
The work scheduled on February 12th was intended to be a routine “cut and plug” of an existing water service lateral that no longer was in use. During the routine work, which involved excavating a trench to access the water main, DWS discovered that the service valve at the main was faulty. To avoid loss of water and potentially worse consequences, it was determined that the prudent action was to resolve the situation then and there. This required closing several main line valves which resulted in the unplanned water shutoff for customers.
DWS sincerely apologizes to our customers for the impact and inconvenience this unexpected water shutoff may have caused. Typically, DWS would issue a water shutoff notice for scheduled repairs, fixes, connections, etc. to the water system. As explained above, a shutoff was not expected for the original work effort.
Should customers or the public have any further questions please call (808) 961-8050 during normal business hours or email: dws@hawaiidws.org.
Thank you for your understanding.
This is your Hawaiʻi County Department of Water Supply.