Blessing Held for Hanapēpē-‘Ele‘ele Water System Improvements

Left to Right; Ryan Mountcastle of GoodFellow Bros. Inc., Lydia Yee and Phillip Ho from R.M. Towill Corporation, DOW’s Dustin Moises, Kanani Fu from the County of Kauai, Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr., State Representative Dee Morikawa and the DOW’s Bryan Wienand participate in the blessing ceremony for the Hanapēpē-Ele’ele Water System Reorganization and Improvements Project on Aug. 31. Photo courtesy of the Kaua‘i Department of Water

The Department of Water held a blessing ceremony on Friday, Aug. 31, to commence the Hanapēpē-‘Ele‘ele Water System Reorganization and Improvements Project, according to a County of Kaua‘i news release.

“This Water Plan 2020 Project will not only improve water flow capacity for the Hanapēpē and ‘Ele‘ele water systems, but perhaps more importantly, it will interconnect the two systems. This provides resiliency, improves reliability, and helps to ensure we can restore water service quickly during emergency-related events.” said Bryan Wienand, DOW’s Manager & Chief Engineer.

The Hanapēpē-‘Ele‘ele Water System Reorganization and Improvements Construction Project is part of the DOW’s Water Plan 2020, a comprehensive long-range plan that addresses the need to upgrade aging infrastructures on Kaua‘i.

Work will include installation of a 16-inch main line along Kaumuali‘i Highway, a new 6-inch main line replacement on Hanapēpē Road and installing appurtenances that will include additional 12-inch and 8-inch main lines, connections to existing waterlines, new service laterals, new water meters and boxes, new valves, new fire hydrants, an emergency booster pump connection in ‘Ele‘ele, and other restoration and repaving work.

DOW staff and County of Kaua‘i officials gather together with contractors and work crews to commence the Hanapēpē-‘Ele‘ele Water Systems Improvements Project during the blessing ceremony. Photo courtesy of the Kaua‘i Department of Water

The construction is scheduled to begin this week, and be completed in July 2019; weather permitting.

“The new installation of the 16-inch mainline will improve fire flow protection for the community and replace older pipeline that date back to 1926,” said Dustin Moises, DOW’s chief of construction management.  “It’s a very comprehensive project that will include a new expansion pipeline from Hanapēpē town to Waialo Road, near the ‘Ele‘ele Shopping Center that will create a loop in our system, making it more reliable, more energy efficient and allow for expansion to support current and future water needs. The Department of Water is here to make a difference, and this project is another step in doing so, to fulfill our mission. ”

The construction contract was awarded to Goodfellow Bros., Inc. in the amount of $8,96 million; of that amount, $4 million was granted from state legislative funding for construction, with another $450,000 granted from state legislative funding for the project’s design.

The Subcontractors involved in this project include Grace Pacific, LLC, Harry Asato Painting, Inc., Wellington Fencing Company, Pural Water Specialty Company, Hawai’i Pacific Trenchless, Inc., Esaki Surveying and Mapping, Inc., Geolabs, Inc. and Cultural Surveys Hawai’i, Inc. Akinaka and Associates was contracted to design the project.

Reverend Jade Waialeale-Battad of Ke Akua Mana Church officiated the blessing ceremony over the project site in ‘Ele‘ele.

For more information on the Hanapēpē-‘Ele‘ele Water System Reorganization and Improvements Project, contact the Department of Water at 245-5455.