Where’s the water when there’s a fire?

Despite shortages, officials promise property can be saved

Due to old, leaking and undersized pipes, Kapa’a, Lihu’e and Po’ipu are without the preferred amount of water for fighting fires.

The condition could leave residential and commercial properties vulnerable to fires and result in injuries or deaths. School officials are concerned for students’ safety in areas where there are school buildings and fire flow (the term for water supply for fighting fires) is low.

The problem could also bring financial hardship for property owners. In some cases, insurance companies may balk at insuring homes in affected areas, or property owners may have to pay more for insurance coverage.

But as part of a $150 million overhaul of the island’s water system, the Kaua’i County Water Department is primed to correct the problem by replacing substandard pipes with more durable and wider-diameter pipes, according to department officials.

The county Fire Department also says it can respond to fires in low water flow areas by using alternate firefighting techniques, including drawing water from the ocean and rivers and using chemical foam.

“We know of the problems, but we have ways of dealing with them that are effective,” fire chief David Sproat said.

When smaller water pipes were installed as far back as 80 years ago and were part of sugar plantation water systems, they met the needs of a smaller island population, said Kymm Solchaga, spokeswoman for the Water Department. But the system became inadequate as it aged and as the island’s population grew.

“We have the sufficient source, it is the pipes” that are the problem, Solchaga said.

Through the department’s Water Plan 2020, the $150 million project to strengthen the island’s water system, 127 miles of pipeline would be changed over the next 20 years.

The older pipes were not replaced earlier because the Water Department spent funds for new wells and other facilities to accommodate growth in the 1980s, officials have said.

The department has identified these communities as having deficient water flow for fire control:

– Waimea and Kekaha. Existing main lines are adequate for peak-hour demands, but they lack adequate fire flow capacity for commercial buildings and some residences.

– Hanapepe and ‘Ele’ele. Water supplies are adequate, but conservation measures should be fully implemented in 20 years, officials recommend. They said tanks and other equipment need to be installed to ensure water supplies and storage facilities are adequate. The Salt Pond area is deficient in fire flow.

– Puhi, LIhu’e and Hanama’ulu. Water supplies are adequate, though officials said improvements must be made to ensure there’s enough water by 2020. Fire flow is currently deficient in commercial areas, schools and older subdivisions.

– Wailua and Kapa’a. Vivian Heights and upper Wailua Homesteads have low pressure, and fire flow is deficient on the ocean side of Waipouli and in agricultural areas, open spaces and older residential subdivisions.

– Kalaheo. Agricultural and open spaces are deficient in fire flow.

– Lawa’i and O’mao. Water supplies and storage are adequate now and will be so in 2020, as long as a storage tank is installed, officials said. However, fire flow is deficient in commercial, agricultural and open spaces and on private roads.

– Koloa and Po’ipu. Water supplies are adequate for now, but fire flow is deficient in Koloa town and in agricultural areas and open spaces.

– Anahola. A new well is needed for the area. Fire flow is deficient in Anahola village.

– Kilauea, Waipake and Kalihiwai. Fire flow is deficient for commercial and schools and in Kalihiwai Valley.

– Anini. Fire flow at the eastern end of the one-pipeline system along Anini Beach Road is deficient.

– Hanalei. Fire flow is deficient for commercial areas, Hanalei Elementary School and homes on Weke Road. A new well and a new tank are needed to ensure adequate water supply and storage, officials said.

It’s likely that many insurance companies are unaware of the problem facing the communities, said Patrick Tani, an agent with Insurance Agency Hawaii, an insurance brokerage firm on O’ahu that does business on Kaua’i.

Hawaii Insurance Bureau, which sets rates that influence insurance coverage, provides information to insurance companies on the distance between homes and fire stations and the location of fire hydrants to homes, Tani said.

“But insurance companies don’t know the diameter of pipes and water volume,” Tani said. “I guess the companies assume there is enough water pressure in the pipes to fight fires.”

Information on water volume would be provided by the Hawaii Insurance Bureau, Tani said. Officials with the organization were not immediately available for comment.

Greg Knudsen, spokesman for the state Department of Education’s headquarters on O’ahu, said the matter affects students and every resident and should be corrected.

“In consideration of the upgrading” of the island’s water system, “we hope that safety would be given full consideration,” Knudsen said.

Ernest Lau, Water Department manager, said reconstruction of the pipelines will provide the help the Fire Department needs to fight fires.

“They are very pleased that we are replacing these old lines with new, larger pipelines,” Lau said of the Fire Department. “It is an uphill battle, but we are making headway.”

Coupled with available water in neighborhoods and firefighting alternatives, life and property on Kaua’i can be protected, Sproat contends.

Where there is inadequate water, firefighters can draw water from other sources like ditches, swimming pools and reservoirs, Sproat said.

“We can try to provide backup response with additional companies (firefighting units) or water tankers that may be available to us, the county, state or private sources,” he said.

Chemical foam and civilian or military helicopters using buckets to scoop water from the ocean or reservoirs also can be used for firefighting when water supplies in neighborhoods are deficient, Sproat said.

Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net