Big Island officials urge residents to prepare for water outages
County water crews warned a storm could knock out power needed to run pumps, and residents were told to store 14 days of water before outages hit.
The County of Hawaii Department of Water Supply urged customers on July 23 to prepare for an approaching storm that could interrupt electrical service needed to run its equipment and deliver drinking water. Hurricane Fausto moved through the Central Pacific, putting the island’s water system at the center of storm readiness on Hawaii Island.
Residents were told to plan for disruptions by storing enough drinking water to last at least 14 days. Each person should have a minimum of one gallon of water per day for that period, a standard tied to the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency.
Water service on Hawaii Island depends on more than pipes and tanks. Natural disasters, power outages, or other unplanned events can interrupt reliable drinking-water service, and a water emergency may occur without warning. Heavy rain, high surf, falling trees, or outages can affect power, pumping, access roads, and communications at the same time, especially in remote communities.
Water is needed for drinking and cooking, sanitation, medical needs, livestock, and fire response. The department’s mission is to provide customers with an adequate and continuous supply of safe drinking water in a financially responsible manner, a goal that can be strained quickly when storms take out electricity.
On Jan. 30, 2025, the department warned customers to prepare for possible service interruptions because of expected heavy rains and winds. On Aug. 22, 2024, it issued a similar reminder about two developing storms and adverse weather. A 2023 emergency water preparedness notice told residents to determine their water needs before an emergency happens.
The County of Hawaii Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan was publicly drafted in May 2020.
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