Public Utilities Commission coming to Pāhala to address private system’s failure to restore water, sewer
It's been two months since Hurricane Lala damaged a well site and infrastructure of Punaluʻu Water and Sanitation, leaving 100 customers without basic services.
It has now been two months since the condo communities of Colony I and Kalana Estates in Kaʻū have been without sewer and water services since the utility system was severely damaged during Hurricane Lala in August.
Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission will host a public meeting Oct. 19 in Pāhala to question the private utility Punaluʻu Water and Sanitation about what it is doing to restore services to its nearly 100 customers.
One resident says the meeting also is an opportunity to show the commission its support in allowing the Ninole Wai Community Association to take over the operation, control and maintenance of the water and sewer system.
This association encompasses unit owners of both condos and property owners near the Black Sand Beach, according to association president Jeff Silva.
The well site for the private utility Punaluʻu Water and Sanitation was severely damaged in the Category I storm. While there was no estimate timeframe for repair, officials had initially projected to have sewer services restored this week, but that has not happened.
Colin B. Sakumoto, attorney for Punalu‘u Water and Sanitation, said the utility, which is owned by Black Sand Beach, a limited liability corporation whose principal owner and developer is Eva Liu, filed a response with the Hawai‘i Public Utilities Commission on Oct. 7 addressing the body’s questions regarding the sewer, water and potable water alternatives for customers.
The document outlined a plan to have the wastewater system re-energized by Oct. 12, restoring service to the customers.
But Sakumoto said Thursday that the road to the wastewater treatment plant and the lift station were washed out after a heavy rain on Oct. 10, the day the site was set to be visited for a final inspection by an electrician from Hawaiian Electric.
“We were standing on mud,” Sakumoto said. “It was just another horrible thing to happen to the area in a succession of horrible things to happen to this area.”
Sakumoto said there is now a plan to have the wastewater plant re-energized on Oct. 24.
The Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission will host the public meeting Monday at 6 p.m. at the Pāhala Community Center, 96-3159 Maile St.
“We know at PWS how bad that looks, going to that meeting without the wastewater plant restored, even though we said it’d be restored by the 12th,” Sakumoto said. “We’re ready to take that mud right in our face, both literally and figuratively in this case.”
The commission also provided 20 questions to the private utility that they’d like them to address during the community meeting. Sakumoto described the queries as “legit” and some of them “we’re going to have a very difficult time explaining.”
“I’m expecting to go into the meeting on the 19th and just be absolutely destroyed,” Sakumoto said. “I’m ready to sit there and eat crow because nothing has gone right.”
Questions to PWS from the Public Utilities Commission.pdf by Tiffany De Masters
Silva, a 27-year resident of Kaʻū who has owned a condo in Colony 1 since 2013, is still splitting time between Punalu‘u and Hilo until the utilities can be addressed.
Five days after Lala, Silva used his personal credit card to buy two 1,500-gallon non-potable water tanks and get them set up in the 76-unit Colony I, near Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach, and 20-unit Kalana Estates. Most of the units are vacation rentals, but residents live there, too.
Silva, who worked as an operator and advisor for Hawaiian Beaches Water Company and Wood Valley Water and Farm Cooperative, both potable water service companies for communities on Hawai‘i Island, said those tanks continued to be maintained and filled and are providing water access for bathing and doing dishes.
“In addition to doing the disaster response and making sure people have water, we’re maintaining the water tanks that we have,” Silva said Thursday. “There are four non-potable water tanks being used.”
Silva doesn’t expect any answers or solutions will be come to at the upcoming meeting. He believes the commission has an obligation to protect the water users.
“They are the regulating body,” Silva said of the commission. “We hope to show them our unity and that we want them to ultimately support Ninole Wai Community Association to take over the operation, control, maintenance of the water and sewer system.”
There is support for this move from public comments filed with the Public Utilities Commission.
Anthony Fritz wrote to the commission giving his full support to Ninole Wai Community Association.
“PWS has failed, it is now time to enable Ninole Wai to own and operate the system in a responsible and professional manner,” Fritz wrote. “Ninole Wai provides the only opportunity to regain lost property values and actually be able to use our homes. Sustainable water and wastewater service is essential. PWS has proven time and again they are incapable of responsibly (fiscally and professionally) running a utility.”
Since the meeting won’t be streamed online, the commission is encouraging affected customers to attend and share what they’ve experienced as a result of the longstanding utility outages. Customers are also encouraged to submit comments, referencing Docket No. 2025-0167.
Comments can be submitted in the following ways:
- Online: https://hpuc.my.site.com/cdms/s/consumers/public-comments
- Email: puc@hawaii.gov
- Mail: Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission 465 S. King Street, #103 Honolulu, HI, 96813
For more information about Docket No. 2025‑0167 visit https://puc.hawaii.gov/public-notice/public-meeting-on-punaluu-water-and-sanitation-docket-no-2025-0167/.
