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For Immediate Release
November 23, 2020

BWS TO REOPEN LOBBY NOVEMBER 30, 2020, FOR APPOINTMENT-ONLY CUSTOMER SERVICES AND WALK-IN PAYMENTS

Due to COVID-19, customers advised to check first before coming to BWS


(HONOLULU) – Beginning November 30, 2020, the Board of Water Supply (BWS) will reopen the Public Service Building lobby, located at 630 S. Beretania Street, by appointment only during normal business hours. No appointment is necessary to make water and/or sewer bill payments.  Regular business hours are Monday-Friday, 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., except for state holidays.

Customers can contact the BWS by calling 748-5000, emailing customerservice@hbws.org or contactus@hbws.org, or visiting BWS’s online Customer Information Center at hbws.me/help.

“We are pleased to restore limited in-person customer services by appointment only at this time,” said BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau. “We appreciate our customers’ patience as our staff worked carefully and diligently on procedural and physical changes for our lobby that will allow us to protect the safety of our customers and our staff as we reopen this area for business during the pandemic.”

The BWS continues to encourage the public to use its customer services by phone or remotely when feasible.  However, there are some services where remote servicing would not provide optimum customer service, such as the following services:

  • Account and Billing Services
    • Call 748-5070 to schedule an appointment to receive in-person assistance with water service and account questions.
    • Customer Care staff can assist customers with most of their needs without them having to come in. Visit our website at hbws.me/help or email customerservice@hbws.org. Customers may also call 748-5000.
    • The BWS urges anyone experiencing financial hardship to visit our website at hbws.me/support to obtain information about financial support programs and, if needed, fill out a form to request a payment arrangement.  Customers may also call 748-5070 for assistance.
  • New Water Service and Plan Review for Permits
    • Call 748-5460 to schedule an appointment for in-person service for only New Water Services and Segregation of Water Services. For Plan Review for Permits, go to hbws.me/permits for more information.
    • Customers can also use the BWS’s convenient drop-off service at the mauka side of our Public Service Building at 630 S. Beretania St. in Honolulu.

The BWS offers various Bill Payment options:

  • Payments can be made 24/7 through our payment drop box outside of the building. Payments can also be made with Cashiering staff in the lobby.  No appointment needed. 
  • The BWS advises customers to use one of its many alternate bill-payment methods when possible. More detail about each of these methods are online at hbws.me/pay, or call 748-5000 and select Option 2.
  • Customers can obtain account information and pay their bills 24/7 using:
  • By mail at P.O. Box 135037, Honolulu, Hawaii 96801-5037
  • Automatic deduction from the customer’s checking account.

Additionally, the lobby had been remodeled and new procedures for conducting business are in place to ensure the safety of BWS staff and customers.  These include new requirements of:

  • Wearing a face mask,
  • Providing contact information and answering health screening questions.
  • Getting a temperature check.
  • Receiving clearance to enter the building from the BWS security officer posted at the entrance.
  • A maximum number of (2) two customers will be allowed at the cashier counter at a time.
  • An overall maximum number of five (5) customers will be allowed in the lobby at any time. 

Visitors will be asked the following health screening questions:
In the past 14 days, have you or a member of your immediate household:

  1. Experienced a fever or flu-like symptoms?
  2. Experienced a recent onset of any of the following symptoms: Fever or Chills, Cough, Shortness of Breath or Difficulty Breathing, Fatigue, Muscle or Body Aches, Headache, New Loss of Taste or Smell, Sore Throat, Congestion or Runny Nose, Nausea or Vomiting, or Diarrhea? (This list does not include all possible symptoms and may be revised by the CDC from time to time. See cdc.gov.)
  3. Traveled off island?
  4. Come into close personal contact with anyone with a confirmed COVID-19 infection?
  5. Been asked to self-quarantine by any doctor, hospital, or health agency because of COVID-19?

The BWS continues to work to improve service to its customers while addressing the requirements for safe operation. 

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About the Honolulu Board of Water Supply:

The Board of Water Supply (BWS), a semi-autonomous agency of the City and County of Honolulu, manages Oahu’s municipal water resources and distribution system. As the largest water utility in the State, the BWS serves approximately one million customers on Oahu. The BWS embraces its mission of “Water for Life – Ka Wai Ola”—to provide a safe, dependable, and affordable water supply, now and into the future. Uwē  ka lani, ola ka honua – “When the heavens weep, the earth lives.”  For more information about the BWS, visit www.boardofwatersupply.com, follow @BWSHonolulu or like the BWS’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BWSHonolulu.

Contact:

Kathleen Elliott-Pahinui
Information Officer
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Phone: (808) 748-5319
Email: kelliott-pahinui@hbws.org