Sandra responds to the Water Wo's.

Dear Susan:

I am reluctant to return to the fray of the Coastview/WonderView water system. Reading your several e-mails to and from DWS leads me to make a few comments. I am sure I will regret succumbing to the temptation, as I am no longer on the Water Board and could safely stay out of the way.

First, interconnections among subdivisions' water supplies, all of which have paid for their water systems, is only common sense, for the reasons you were given. I would agree with you that if DWS were connecting other subdivisions that did not previously have DWS service would not be fair to C'view/W'view owners -- they could be considered "free riders." But that is not the case. Making interconnections to other existing services provides back up and better service for everyone.

Second, DWS does not regulate any plumbing beyond the water meter. If you want to install driscoll pipe or PVC to connect from the water meter to your house, you are free to do so, as long as you meet the DPW building code for your area. If a pipe breaks between the DWS meter and your house, DWS is not responsible, so they don't mandate any specifics of how you connect.

Third, the scarcity of plumbers and excavators to make the connections is a problem. In my subdivision, it took months to get a plumber to install just 20 backflow prevention devices. Getting connections done in a timely and cost effective way would probably be more likely if all the owners who need connections banded together and let a contract to a large firm (Isemoto comes to mind) to do all of the connections in a set way in a time frame the owners and DWS can live with. This is just a suggestion.

Maybe it's time for another public meeting with DWS to work out the final details of how the connections will be made and when the system can be considered complete. If I were organizing the meeting, I would ask all the local contractors who do water connections to attend. Everyone involved needs to know the game plan to get 408 homes connected the the new system, before the old one is eliminated.

You have my very best wishes and congratulations on getting the new water system in place.

Aloha,
Sandra