Maggie T. Sutrov showered, drank treated tap water and watered her garden before she learned that she shouldn91裸聊视频檛 be using the water in her home on Maui after . Concerned about others making the same mistake, she quickly created a flier on water contamination from guidance she91裸聊视频檇 found on the county91裸聊视频檚 website and worked with a pop-up community center to get the word out.
91裸聊视频淓very day, people were showing up there going 91裸聊视频榃hat, I can91裸聊视频檛 drink the water? I didn91裸聊视频檛 know that,91裸聊视频�91裸聊视频� Sutrov said. Three weeks after the fire, Sutrov and others are anxious to know when the island91裸聊视频檚 water will be safe.
91裸聊视频淲hen is this over?91裸聊视频� Sutrov wondered.
So far, tests have found no concerning levels of contaminants in the drinking water. But extensive testing is still needed, with access to most of Lahaina slowed by hazardous conditions and .
Some areas under the unsafe water advisory could be cleared to use their tap water in a couple of weeks, said John Stufflebean, director of the Maui County Department of Water Supply.
But experts and history suggest it could take months or years before the worst of the damaged areas have safe water fully restored.
91裸聊视频淲e have a way to go before we can say that it91裸聊视频檚 safe,91裸聊视频� Stufflebean said.
The county first told people in Upper Kula and Lahaina not to use their water on Aug. 11 shortly after fire damaged water pipes as it sped across the land. So far, one water quality test on the northwest edge of Lahaina showed low levels of benzene, a chemical known to cause cancer, but it was within federal safety limits.
That91裸聊视频檚 likely a clue to what more testing will find, said Andrew Whelton, a Purdue University professor following California91裸聊视频檚 2018 Camp Fire and Colorado91裸聊视频檚 2021 Marshall Fire.
91裸聊视频淎s you move closer to the middle of the water system where structures were destroyed, you91裸聊视频檒l likely see higher levels of contamination,91裸聊视频� he said.
Where homes and other structures burned, so did their interior pipes, along with shallow-buried exterior ones that connected them to the public water line, and the water meters, Stufflebean said. The utility91裸聊视频檚 networks of reservoirs, pumps, wells and treatment plants on Maui weren91裸聊视频檛 affected, and it91裸聊视频檚 unlikely that main lines 91裸聊视频� thick pipes buried more deeply 91裸聊视频� burned, he said.
91裸聊视频淲hat other places have found in fires is that the main lines tend not to get damaged because they are buried,91裸聊视频� he said.
That was the case in in the Camp Fire. Main lines buried several feet underground were OK, though water utility assistant district manager Mickey Rich said small sections were damaged when lost pressure sucked in smoke and contaminants. Seventeen miles of the town91裸聊视频檚 172 miles of main lines were contaminated and await replacement, and the city is still replacing service lines five years after the blaze.
Kurt Kowar, director of public works and utilities in Louisville, Colorado, said it took just a week to get parts of the water system there back online after the Marshall Fire. But in more severe burn areas, it took months to assess the damage, including where contamination had occurred, and flush it from the system. The city distributed bottled water and set up refill stations to hold residents over.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e almost approaching our two-year mark. And as we91裸聊视频檝e cleaned up the properties and people are starting to rebuild, we are still doing protocols of testing service lines to verify there91裸聊视频檚 no contamination,91裸聊视频� he said.
Kowar just returned from a trip to Maui alongside othesr from Louisville and Paradise where they met with the Department of Water Supply to share knowledge about what to test for and how to decontaminate the system.
91裸聊视频淚t was very emotional to see all that again,91裸聊视频� he said of the damage. 91裸聊视频淚t was kind of healing to be able to give our knowledge back and help them move faster or give them an idea of what91裸聊视频檚 coming in the future.91裸聊视频�
Stufflebean91裸聊视频檚 department will soon expand the number of chemicals it91裸聊视频檚 testing for, he told a room packed with residents in Kula, a mountainside community about 24 miles from Lahaina, last week. The residents were told not to drink or bathe in their water until further testing is completed.
When Stufflebean mentioned that a map for the water advisory was on the department91裸聊视频檚 website, some frustration could be heard: 91裸聊视频淪ome people do not have internet,91裸聊视频� one person responded.
The county-run utility is stretched thin trying to restore the water system and doesn91裸聊视频檛 have a lot of time for outreach, said Chris Shuler, a hydrologist at the University of Hawaii at M膩noa, who lives on Maui. To try to fill the information gap, he91裸聊视频檚 part of a team from the university91裸聊视频檚 Water Resources Research Center that has set up a .
They offer free testing for 88 compounds to residents within the unsafe water advisory area.
91裸聊视频淧eople want to know what91裸聊视频檚 in their water, but at the same time they just want to have information and help them navigate through this difficult time,91裸聊视频� he said.
As with the county, the research center91裸聊视频檚 first round of results didn91裸聊视频檛 find concerning levels of contamination, but they91裸聊视频檝e only just begun. They have more than 200 requests for sampling. Any significant results would be reported to the county.
Sutrov was lucky. Her family91裸聊视频檚 home, where she was born and raised, survived the fire while some of her neighbors91裸聊视频� homes did not. Now, as the island community still reels in the traumatic aftermath, her patience for slow information is waning.
91裸聊视频淓veryone in whatever their role is is doing the best they can, but there are also distinct gaps that have been uncovered in this,91裸聊视频� Sutrov said.
Stufflebean acknowledged as much at the community water meeting she attended.
91裸聊视频淲e91裸聊视频檙e enhancing our communication, which has not been terrific, I admit,91裸聊视频� Stufflebean said.
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