The city wants to set up "dipping tanks" at three locations in West Oahu to provide sources of water for helicopters making water drops on wildfires.
The dipping tanks in Makaha, Lualualei and Palehua at Makakilo would be used by helicopters to fill their water buckets.
Under a plan, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply would receive about $350,000 through the state Oahu Drought Committee, board spokesman Kurt Tsue said.
Construction is expected to begin in mid-2012 and be completed in three months.
Tsue said the $350,000 will not affect water ratepayers.
Tsue said the project will require the development of a standpipe and a 50-by-50-foot concrete pad in each area to hold an inflatable tank.
He said the tanks could be set up when there is a wildfire and later removed.
Firefighters have used the ocean as a source of water for fighting wildfires.
The development of the dipping tanks would put sources of water closer to fires and enable helicopters to make more water drops, the board said.
Tsue said the proposed locations are based on the recommendations of city fire officials.
Honolulu Fire Department spokesman Capt. Terry Seelig said the establishment of the dipping tanks will put firefighters closer to the mountains and valleys where there has been a history of wildfires.
Seelig said the portable water tanks will also reduce the number of tanker trucks shuttling water, and improve safety.
A draft environmental assessment of the project is available at the state Office of Environmental Quality Control. Go to oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov. Click on "EA and EIS Online Library" then "Oahu," "2010" and scroll down to "DEA-Portable-Dip-Tanks-Wildland-Firefighting."
