Water Main Break: Summary by Board of Water Supply & Other Agencies

Nanakuli Water Main Break. Screen capture from KHON2 video 7/28/15.

On 8/3/2015, BWS provided time line of events (see below).

Questions asked of BWS:

1. Reason for the break?
Plastic PVC pipe broke – the cause is still under investigation.

2. Was repair time standard, longer than usual, or extremely long?
Due to damage to the sewer lateral line repairs took an extra day. BWS cannot do repairs to sewer line – falls under City Environmental Services (ENV). The line appears to be a private sewer line but due to the emergency situation ENV approved the repairs BWS will pay for repairs. Sewer line was made of clay so that made it impossible for BWS crew to detect the line above ground.

3. The two additional breaks on the coast – were they a result of this break?
That is a possibility but those breaks are still under investigation.

4. Was this break a result of the current road widening project?
Possible but still under investigation.

5. If this break happened half mile east where are the water mains located?
BWS did not have an answer but will check. This is the stretch of Farrington Highway by the garden between Kahe power plant and Piliokahi Avenue.

OTS Supervisor Report:

At approximately 6:51 an OTS field supervisor determined buses couldn’t traverse the bridge for two reasons: Uncertainty of the capacity of the bridge and the buses couldn’t make the turn at the park. Early Sunday morning when the roads were clear OTS sent 4 empty buses to the coast to shuttle residents along the coast while handivans were used to move residents to and from Kapolei.

Honolulu Police Department (HPD):

Per Major Kendo from HPD –
Initial call came in at 4:21.
HPD on scene at 4:34 at 4:47 bridge opened.
WCEAR all opened at 11:25 Sunday.
Opening WCEAR caused more of a problem. Community education needs to take place notifying residents that WCEAR needs to be used to move between two locations on he coast and NOT to get ahead of traffic on Farrington Highway.

Department of Transportation Services (DTS):

DTS needs to control traffic signals but a T1 line needs to be installed.
DTS is planning to have permanent message boards put up to alert residents to traffic conditions.

Timeline for Farrington Highway 24-Inch Transmission Water Main Break

7/25/2015
4:30 pm – Main break on Farrington Hwy near Nanakuli Beach Park reported to BWS Control Center.
4:40 pm – BWS Troubleshooter dispatched.
5:30 pm – BWS Troubleshooter arrives on site and begins process to isolate main. HPD is also onsite. All lanes on Farrington Hwy. are closed.
6:20 pm – BWS crews arrive on site.
6:32 pm – BWS issues media advisory of mainbreak on a 24” transmission main on Farrington Hwy near Nanakuli Beach Park.
6:45 pm – Mainbreak isolation is complete. All customers have water, however some may experience low water pressures.
7:15 pm – BWS crews begin excavation to make repairs. HPD able to open one west-bound lane.
7:25 am – BWS issues media advisory BWS is repairing 24” transmission main.
7/26/2015
3:30 am – Excavation complete. Repairs to 24” main begins.
6:30 am – BWS crews notices sewer water trickling into bottom of excavation trench and notifies ENV. ENV troubleshooter determines this is private sewer lateral, however ENV management authorizes ENV crews to make repairs. BWS to reimburse costs of repairs.
8:49 am – BWS issues media advisory requesting residents from Honokai Hale to Waianae to use water sparingly as repairs to the 24” transmission main continue to help conserve water.
4:47 pm – BWS issues media advisory indicating that repair of sewer lateral has delayed the water main repair.
5:30 pm – ENV completes repair of private sewer lateral.
7:15 pm – 24” water main repaired. Backfilling of trench begins.
7:30 pm – Paving contractor begins emergency road repairs.
8:00 pm – BWS begins flushing of repaired portion of 24” water main.
8:35 pm – BWS issues media advisory that repairs are continuing and water is safe to drink.
11:30 pm – BWS completes flushing and begins disinfection of repaired portion of 24” main.
7/27/2015
2:45 am – Paving contractor completes emergency road repairs.
5:02 am – BWS issues media advisory that that emergency road repairs are complete, but two west-bound lanes are still closed as BWS completes procedures to disinfect the repaired portion of the water main.
5:30 am – Disinfection process completed and water samples taken by BWS Microlab for testing.
6:15 am – Contractor begins removal of traffic control devices and HPD prepares to open Farrington Hwy to normal traffic.
6:56 am – BWS issues media advisory that all lanes of Farrington Hwy have been opened as of 6:30 am. BWS is awaiting test results from the disinfection process and request that residents still use water sparingly.
7/28/2015
6:04 am – BWS issues media advisory that results of water tests indicated water is safe to drink and that the repaired 24” main has been placed back in service
11:56 am – BWS issues final news release that water system has recovered and residents from Honokai Hale to Makaha may return to normal water use