UPDATE:
Water has been restored to all customers in Windward Oahu affected by a break in a 16-inch transmission main.
However, the Board of Water supply is still asking residents from Kahaluu to Maunawili to use water for cooking, drinking and personal hygiene only while full pressure is restored.
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A water main break on the windward side has left homes, businesses and even a golf course without water since early Tuesday morning and the effects are expected to linger overnight.
The affected area is Kahaluu to Maunawili, but unlike most water main breaks, this one is less consistent in how it affects customers. Generally, those at higher elevations are left dry while locations more makai have not been affected.
Water wagons like this were busy throughout windward Oahu on Tuesday, delivering to homes and businesses whose taps were dry since about 4 a.m.
Tracking down the source of the problem took some time. Board of Water Supply crews originally responded to the areas where customers reported outages.
"There was no physical damage on the roadway, so that led us to take our investigation off the road and then we found it in the transmission main," said Kurt Tsue of the Board of Water Supply.
That break in a 67-year old line was hundreds of yards off the roadway near the long bridge in the Heeia area, even though residents and shops right nearby say they had water all day.
"We don't know exactly how many customers are connected to it because the transmission line goes to the reservoir it depends on where the customer is located as far as their elevation goes as far as whether or not they would receive water or lose water in this particular situation," Tsue said.
That meant lower lying neighborhoods like Heeia and Kaneohe Bay tended to have water, while more mauka areas were dry. Windward Community College closed for the day, so did the Kaneohe Courthouse. And around midday, Pali Golf Course.
"I expected to play today and I had no idea it was closed," said Mike Blackwell of Kahaluu.
Golfers who'd started earlier got to finish
"There's no water, they might close it down, but we got out and they let us golf," said Reid Adams of Kailua.
"For us, I don't think it made much difference. We went through, they had water in the water jugs," said Steve Stiles of Kailua.
Meanwhile, repairs got underway at the source of the problem, but the Board of Water Supply is asking users to conserve -- use water sparingly Tuesday night for cooking, cleaning and personal hygiene
"We need that extra time and that conservation from our customers to fill the reservoirs so that we can provide adequate pressure to our customers," Tsue said.
The Board has stationed a large water wagon at Kaneohe District Park that residents can fill up at.
