2014-05-27 Water Board Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

The Manager-Chief Engineer said the State used to be helpful, but amid the poor economy, the State is no longer able to provide that continuous monitoring help to DWS. DWS is on its own regarding such monitoring, he said. He reiterated that monitoring water levels takes a lot of effort. Mr. Greenwell said that he was asking because in the past, the State came to monitor a well that he used to work with; the State took readings on temperature, water levels, etc. He asked for confirmation that the State does not do that for DWS anymore. The Manager-Chief Engineer confirmed this; on occasion, the State or the USGS may ask to take measurements at one of DWS’s wells, but that is not an ongoing thing. Mr. Robinson asked for confirmation that DWS would be unable to pull out a chart to answer questions about consistent water levels in the Keauhou Wells or the like. The Manager-Chief Engineer confirmed that DWS would be unable to provide any kind of spreadsheet information showing consistent water level readings, because there are no such consistent readings. Mr. Greenwell noted that this proposed contract is for a 12-month period. He asked whether this contact involves the purchase of any monitoring/measuring equipment. The Manager-Chief Engineer said it would be something that DWS would want to own and have at its wells to get continuous readings; he asked the Deputy if that was the intent here. The Deputy said the answer is yes and no; if the scope of the contract were to include the purchase of equipment specifically for this study, it would become DWS’s equipment. However, that is not the case with this particular effort, he said. The anticipated contractors would have to supply their own monitoring equipment and provide DWS with the information regarding static water levels, draw-down, pumping, recovery after pumping, temperatures, etc. This information is what DWS is trying to get through this study, in order to better understand this high-level aquifer system, and what the situation is with DWS’s high-level water. The Deputy said that the equipment would be the contractor’s equipment, with which the contractor will be providing data to DWS. Ms. Lee Loy said that good information helps the Board make good decisions. She said this study is very expensive, and asked how many wells the study would look at. The Deputy said DWS currently has six high-level wells, and Mr. Riley Smith’s Palani Well will make seven. Ms. Lee Loy asked Mr. Sumada if DWS has the funds available in the Budget for this big line item. Mr. Sumada said the funds are available in the CIP Budget. The Deputy said there is a line item on the five-year CIP Budget for this, labeled “North Kona Well.” That is where the funding will come from, he said. Mr. Uyeda said he found it troubling as a Board member to hear that equipment has been deteriorating, and now DWS needs an independent consultant to do readings. He asked for elaboration on how certain equipment at these six or seven wells would be reinstalled. He also asked why DWS is only measuring levels in the high-level wells. He asked whether DWS should instead be measuring all of the wells in the North Kona area, to get a better idea of the situation. He asked what equipment is needed to do the measurements, and asked whether the study should be expanded to include all of the wells in the North Kona area. Page 12 of 27 Water Board Minutes 5-27-14 js