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Water department may waive upcoming bill for Big Island customers impacted by Hurricane Lala
Department of Water Supply customers in the Ka‘ū District could see their next bill waived if their water was cut off or they were under a boil notice for more than a month due to damage or destroyed infrastructure from Hurricane Lala. Keith Okamoto, manager and chief engineer of the water department, presented the proposed bill waiver to the nine-member Water Board during Tuesday’s meeting in Kona. The waiver would be for customers charged by consumption. Okamoto said the department also is considering waiving bills for some customers charged a fixed minimum, also called a standby monthly service based on their meter size, due to approximately 100 water meters that were washed away in the Aug. 15 storm. “The last time we read meters was July 6 in that region,” Okamoto said. “Normally, we would have read again in the early part of September on a two-month cycle, but we had meters that were gone.” More than a month after the Category 1 storm brought heavy rain and mud to the rural district, Okamoto said residents are still recovering. “It didn’t sit right with me that we would charge them full price for a product that wasn’t full quality,” Okamoto...
