Homebound citizens to get collapsible water jugs for disasters

Seniors and other homebound folks across the state will receive free collapsible water jugs in an initiative aimed at improving resiliency during disasters.

State and county officials announced Friday that more than 25,000 2-1/2-gallon collapsible plastic jugs will be distributed by nonprofit agencies over the next few weeks in the project spearheaded by the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency in partnership with county water and emergency agencies.

“Water is one of the most important commodities we need, and it may be one of the first things we lose,” HI-EMA natural hazards officer Kevin Richards said Friday at a Honolulu news conference.

Richards said the program aims to give Hawaii’s most vulnerable citizens a helping hand in emergencies.

Officials say a consistent supply of safe drinking water isn’t always available during disasters, and that’s why they recommend storing one gallon of water per person per day for a minimum of 14 days as part of any disaster preparation kit. The recommendations also include water for pets.

But homebound seniors and those with disabilities often have trouble obtaining such heavy supplies. They might also have the least access to services after a disaster.

“Right out of your tap is clean drinking water,” said Ernest Lau, manager and chief engineer of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. “By providing these containers, it’s a chance for our kupuna to go to their kitchen faucet and fill up these 2-1/2-gallon jugs full of fresh water to store for a disaster. When they don’t need it, they can empty it out — hopefully in their garden to water their vegetables — and they can store it flat.”

“It’s not the final solution but it’s a good start,” Lau said.

The idea for the container distribution started at the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, which ordered 5,000 collapsible jugs to pass out at disaster fairs and during localized emergencies such as water main breaks.

HI-EMA caught wind of the effort, and Richards applied and won a $30,000 disaster grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The state is partnering with agencies on each island that will work with nonprofits in passing out the collapsible jugs. Catholic Charities Hawaii and Project Dana will distribute them statewide. Hawaii Meals on Wheels, Keiki to Kupuna Foundation and Lanakila Pacific will handle Oahu only. Kanoa Senior Services will distribute on Maui; Elderly Activities Division on Hawaii island; and the county’s Agency on Elderly Affairs on Kauai.

Rona Fukumoto, president and CEO of Lanakila Pacific, said it was important to help the people most vulnerable when a disaster happens.

Lanakila Meals on Wheels has prepared and delivered 1,700 emergency food care packages to homebound seniors and others with disabilities on Oahu over the past year.

“The water jugs will make a great addition to the package,” Fukumoto said.

Lanakila volunteers, she said, will teach the recipients how to fill their containers and try to make sure they’re actually using them when they get disaster warnings.

Officials said they’re hoping to continue the program after all of the containers have been distributed — and possibly include the general population if more funds can be found.

In the meantime the jugs can be purchased online at Amazon and will be available at disaster preparation fairs, one per attendee depending on quantities available.

Lau said he could see a day when these containers are used on a larger scale in Hawaii.

“It’s a concept that makes sense,” he said. “You can store a lot of these flat on a pallet. And you can have that in a warehouse and ready to go, because it’s going to be really challenging to ship bottled water for over a million people to the state of Hawaii from the mainland.”

Lau said backup generators on some water wells could be used to fill the containers, and they could be distributed to the community at large.

“It’s just another idea, another part of the solution,” he said. “I don’t think there’s one solution that will solve all problems here, but it will probably be a range of options that we have to be ready to exercise.”