The Department of WaterSupply amended the Unsafe Water Advisory for Upper Kula to remove Area UK-3. Water serving buildings and homes in AreaUK-3 is declared safe for unrestricted use, effective October 13, 2023.Community members can search an address using the interactive Water AdvisoryMap to confirm if their address is outside or within the advisory area.

Water may have stagnated inthe premise plumbing of homes and buildings within Upper Kula Area UK-3 whilethe advisory was in effect, and the Department of Water Supply recommendscustomers flush their lines to remove any standing water in plumbing and pipesdue to non-use and replace with fresh water. Lines may be flushed by openingvalves and letting the faucets run for at least 10 minutes.

Areas UK-2B and UK-5 of UpperKula and much of the fire-impacted area in Lahaina remain under the UnsafeWater Advisory until further notice. Customers within the advisory area shouldcontinue to NOT drink or boil their tap water. Boiling, freezing, filtering,adding chlorine or other disinfectants or letting water stand will not make thewater safe. Bottled water or potable water provided by the County of Maui mustbe used for drinking (including making baby formula and juice), brushing teeth,making ice, and food preparation. Customers in the advisory area are alsoadvised to limit water use for hygiene purposes such as showers. Failure tofollow the advisory could result in illness.  

The Unsafe Water Advisory wasissued on August 11, 2023, as a precautionary measure due to the unknownimpacts of the August 2023 Maui wildfires on the drinking water system in thearea. In Upper Kula and Lahaina, structures in the water system in both areaswere destroyed by the fire, and someareas in the system experienced water pressure loss. These conditions may havecaused harmful contaminants to enter the water system.

The Department of WaterSupply has been working closely with the Hawai`i State Department of Health andU.S. Environmental Protection Agency to complete its VOC investigation, isolatethe system from fire damaged structures to ensure minimal potential from anycontamination, and conduct ongoing waterquality sampling and testing at key points throughout the system. The decisionto amend the Unsafe Water Advisory for Upper Kula Area UK-3 was based on  multiple lines of evidence collected throughthis process, which supported the determination that fire-related contaminantsdid not impact the UK-3 area.

For more information about the Unsafe Water Advisory, the Department of Water Supply’s VOC investigation, as well as answers to frequently asked questions, go to mauirecovers.org/recovery/utilities.