Question: About three years ago a new main water line was installed in Lanikai, and the roads were repaved. We have had four major water main breaks in recent months. I was told by a Board of Water Supply employee that this was due to inferior materials and poor workmanship by the contractor. Who is ultimately responsible for the quality of work done by city contractors and the BWS? Will Oahu residents have to pay for this unacceptable work?
Answer: The BWS can’t pinpoint an exact cause for the breaks along the water main installed in 2009, but the contractor "had used approved materials, and the work met contract requirements," said BWS spokeswoman Jill Kuramoto.
She said it is not always possible to determine why a main break occurs because evidence is often destroyed or washed away.
Other factors also have to be considered, including soil conditions, ground movement, pipe material, pressure management, root growth, installation practices, contractor damage and construction vibrations.
"The actual cause of any given water main break could involve one or more of these factors, though it is not always possible to determine the root cause," Kuramoto said.
In this case, although installation issues could have been a factor, she said there also is the possibility that because the pipes are part of a high-pressure system and are located at the end of that water system, that further increases pressure within the pipe.
There have been three breaks along the almost 11,000 feet of pipeline installed in Lanikai in 2009: on May 6, Aug. 1 and Sept. 2. Two other BWS repairs in the area did not involve this line.
For the 2009 project, polyvinyl chloride pipe was installed to limit corrosion, Kuramoto said.
"All materials were approved for municipal system use under the statewide Water System Standards," she said. "The BWS monitored the work to ensure that the contractor’s activities met contract requirements."
Final inspection was completed Oct. 26, 2009, and the contractor provided a one-year warranty under terms of the contract.
Because the breaks happened past the warranty period, BWS paid for repairs, which totaled about $15,400.
The BWS will be doing "proactive leak detection in the Lanikai area" to preclude doing major repairs, Kuramoto said.
Also, "to reassure customers that the BWS tries to provide our ratepayers with the best value possible," she said an analysis is done on the data retrieved from all main breaks.
"The ongoing analysis will help the BWS better understand these causes and implement methods and strategies to extend the life expectancy of BWS mains in the future," she said.
Question: I read where there was some price-gouging related to bottled water sales when the hurricanes were supposed to hit this summer. The state was supposed to investigate. The names of the guilty parties should be made public to let everyone know where the greed was! What was the result of the investigation?
Answer: There is nothing yet to report — not even to confirm an investigation.
In August the state Office of Consumer Protection told Kokua Line it had received 103 reports of alleged price gouging related to Iselle and Julio and was "actively reviewing" them.
Those "reports" were received through social media, calls, emails, etc. and are separate from official complaints, said spokesman Brent Suyama. Many complainants did not file a formal complaint.
It is a formal complaint or staff-initiated case that leads to official investigations, Suyama explained.
That said, once investigators begin an actual investigation, "we can’t discuss the details of the case," he said. "This also requires that we don’t confirm or deny that there is a case for reasons of confidentiality."
Mahalo
To the kind person who found my driver’s license at the Kahala Mall on Labor Day. I can’t thank you enough for returning it to my home in Kaimuki. — FT
Write to “Kokua Line” at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.