Frequently Asked Questions

WaterSmart® provides participating customers with detailed information on their water use and personalized recommendations for using water more efficiently. This information is available online or by mobile, making it a convenient way for customers to check on their water use. Over time, customers who access the WaterSmart® platform have proven to have a better understanding of their water use, higher satisfaction with their water utility, and are more likely to use water efficiently.

In 2017, the Board of Water Supply started with a pilot program, inviting about 38,000 customers to activate their online WaterSmart® account and then to complete an water use survey. Responses to that survey help to tailor the water-saving tips and recommendations to their specific household. BWS is currently working to expand the program so that more customers may use the WaterSmart® service.

WaterSmart® only uses your email address to send you details about your water use and important water-related programs. WaterSmart® will not sell or provide your email address to any third-party vendors.

Board of Water Supply account holders will be invited to participate in the WaterSmart® program. To access the WaterSmart® online portal, visit honolulu.watersmart.com and have your account number ready.

In 2017, approximately 38,000 Board of Water Supply customers in Mililani, Kapolei, Waipahu, Kailua, Aina Haina/Waialae, and Hawaii Kai received a letter from the BWS inviting them to participate in a pilot WaterSmart® program. That letter introduced them to WaterSmart®, described the benefits of participation, and asked them to activate their account, which gave them access to a website with details of their past water use, recommendations to use water efficiently, and an online Water Report. Participating residential customers also were asked to take an online water usage survey, which helped to provide them water-saving tips and messages customized for their particular household’s water usage.

WaterSmart® is a third-party partner with the Board of Water Supply. To access the WaterSmart® portal, click on the log on button on this page, or go to https://honolulu.watersmart.com. Be sure to enter this web address into the address field at the top of the browser screen. See image below as reference.

Google Chrome

If this is your first visit to the WaterSmart® Portal, be sure to fill out the household profile to help customize water-saving tips for your household.

Go to the WaterSmart® portal and click on the "forgot password" link.

Go to the WaterSmart® portal and log into your account. Click on Account Settings to update your name, email address and phone number. To sign up for available alerts and notifications, scroll down to choose how you wish to be contacted.

The household profile helps WaterSmart® to provide you with customized water-use information and recommendations. The profile, which takes a few minutes to complete, includes questions such as the number of occupants in the household, as well as questions about your indoor and outdoor water use, including if you irrigate, how much of your landscape is turf, etc. To review your household profile, click here.

The WaterSmart® platform predicts the number of occupants for each household based on available property data. It is a preliminary estimate that participants can then update online in the household profile. By providing the correct number of occupants for the household, you will get the most relevant and accurate information and water-saving recommendations. To review your household profile, click here.

Log into the WaterSmart® portal to update the number of occupants listed in the household profile.

The household comparisons are provided to give you more context to understand your water use. Your home is compared to other households that have the same number of occupants and a similarly sized yard. Those households are throughout your service area, not just your immediate neighbors. WaterSmart® then examines the most recent meter reading for all accounts within those groups, excluding any outliers—those users with very high or very low use who most likely represent errors or statistical anomalies. This allows WaterSmart® to show what an "average" water customer looks like compared to an "efficient" water customer within a group of similar households.

WaterSmart® calculates "efficient" and "average" water use by grouping customers with similar household characteristics for comparison purposes. Within those groups, an "efficient" water customer's use will generally fall into the bottom 20 percentile of accounts, while an "average" water customer's use will usually be more than half of the other accounts.

The WaterSmart® portal includes an "Estimated End Uses" pie chart for users to see their estimated water use, based on the information from their household profile, their past use data, along with regulatory standards, property data, and industry studies of household water use.

For example, there have been extensive studies on household water use to determine how much water is used for toilet flushing for 1, 2, or 3 occupants. Legislation regulates the amount of water used by most household fixtures, and specifies the amount of water per flush in a toilet sold during specific periods of time. A toilet sold before 1980 uses an average of 5 gallons per flush, while a toilet sold between 1981 and 1991 will use 3.5 gallons per flush and toilets sold after 1992 will use 1.6 gallons per flush.

WaterSmart® uses this data to provide customers with their estimated water use based on the age of household fixtures and the number of occupants in their household to show how much water is being used in various parts of the home, as well as how much water could be saved by upgrading to more efficient fixtures.

Many people are surprised the first time they see their water use in gallons per day. If you would like to learn more about how your household could use water more efficiently, please check out the water-saving tips in the WaterSmart® Portal. Be sure to review and complete your water use profile so that you get tips and recommendations that best fit your household.

By logging on and completing an online water usage survey on the WaterSmart® portal, participating Board of Water Supply customers will be able to receive more customized recommendations that may help them manage their water usage more efficiently. At the same time, BWS also provides numerous publications and other resources that may help the public evaluate their water usage. Go to our Publications page for details.

Thank you for your commitment to using water more efficiently! If you would like to review what you are already doing with a Board of Water Supply representative who may be able to identify water-saving steps that might have been overlooked, please call 808) 748-5965, email watersmart@hbws.org, or complete an online form.

Please contact the Board of Water Supply by calling 808) 748-5965, by emailing at watersmart@hbws.org, or by completing this online form.