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Lahaina Water Infrastructure Firefighting Capacity
Infrastructure
High
High
Design
County
State
County & State
Private
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“When planning please take into consideration long term infrastructure, roads, water and health care...”
Community Quote from Long-Term Planning Recovery Survey
Project Description
This project will update the capacity of water infrastructure in Lahaina by improving pipeline and facility deficiencies to meet current hydraulic criteria to address low fire flow residual pressures in the water system. The County’s Department of Water Supply identified the most critical capacity deficiencies in the water system to be insufficient storage and undersized waterlines. Priority projects to mitigate deficiencies include:
- Construction of a new 1.7-million-gallon water storage tank to increase Lahaina’s water system’s storage from 4.4 million gallons to 6.1 million gallons
- Small diameter pipeline upgrades to correct hydraulic deficiencies and improve fire flow
- North-South Transmission Main upgrades to improve the conveyance of water from North of the Lahaina system to South of the system
Purpose
By improving fire flow capacity of the water system, this project will improve public safety and support the County’s Department of Water Supply in fulfilling its core mission of reliably delivering safe drinking water for generations. This project will immediately benefit Lahaina in the long-term recovery process and protect the community from future wildfire events. The Maui Fire Chief’s Wildfire After Action Report dated 4/17/2024 recommended that recovery efforts include increasing the Lahaina water system’s ability to meet fire flow requirements.
Interdependencies and Roadblocks
This project addresses the infrastructure upgrades necessary to meet capacity needs, but water source development is also a critical component of addressing capacity deficiencies. This will require collaboration with CWRM to secure the necessary water use permit allocations to accommodate new water source development in West Maui.
Next Steps
- Continue to partner with the State Department of Health and State Hawaiian Housing Authority to secure funding
- Identify funding for the new storage tank
Project Details
Cost Estimate:
$47.8 million
Existing Funding Sources:
- Hawai’i Department of Labor BIL Loan - $9.6 million for small diameter pipeline upgrades)
- Hawai’i Department of Health BIL Emerging Contaminants Loan - $15.1 million for north-south transmission main upgrades
- State Hawaiian Housing Authority - $12.1 million for new pipeline in Wahikuli
Project Lead:
County Department of Water Supply
Potential Funding Sources:
- $23.1 million for storage tank TBD
Project Partners:
- State Department of Health
- State Department of Land and Natural Resources
- State Commission on Water Resource Management
- State Hawaiian Housing Authority
Alignment with West Maui Community Plan (WMCP)
- Goal 2.1 Ready and resilient systems
- WMCP Action 1.28 Preserve and maintain existing reservoir and water storage infrastructure within West Maui for fire protection capabilities and agricultural uses.