News Release

For Immediate Release
August 23, 2022

Oahu Restaurants Reminded to Serve Water Only Upon Request

Compliance with rule will boost on-going voluntary conservation efforts

HONOLULU – As island-wide water demand grows with the hot summer weather, the Board of Water Supply (BWS) continues to ask all Oahu water users to voluntarily reduce their usage by 10 percent and reminds all restaurants of a BWS rule that prohibits automatic water service to customers.

The rule, which has been in effect since January 1, 1992, states that water service in restaurants can be provided only upon request.  Section 2-209(5) of the BWS Rules and Regulations provides as follows: 

The Department (Board of Water Supply) shall restrict the serving of drinking water to any customer unless expressly requested at any restaurant, hotel, café, cafeteria, or other place where food is sold, served, or offered for sale. These restrictions shall not apply to catered groups of 25 or more people. Failure to comply with these requirements may result in the imposition of a fifty-dollar ($50.00) special assessment for each violation, or in the discontinuation of water service and/or penalties as authorized in Section 2-205, 2b, and Section 5-501 of these Rules and Regulations.

“We want to remind Oahu restaurants to serve water only upon request, and to help further everyone’s efforts to preserve and protect our precious water resources,” said BWS Manager and Chief Engineer Ernest Lau. “An eight-ounce glass of water requires an additional 16 ounces of water to wash and rinse the glass, and often the glass is left untouched.”

This reminder is being issued due to the loss of water supply capacity from the shutdown of three BWS sources, in response to the Navy’s Red Hill fuel leak. The BWS has been able to adjust the water system and pump other sources more to compensate for some of the loss.  However, continuing to do so could eventually affect water quality of those other sources, so the BWS needs to reduce overall water demand.

The BWS urges dining establishments throughout Oahu to change their service policies, remind their employees about this rule, and instruct their wait staff to serve water only upon request. The BWS can provide table tent cards for restaurants to remind their staff and customers about the rule. 

To report a rule violation, or if a restaurant wishes to obtain a supply of table tent cards, contact the BWS’s Communications Office at (808) 748-5041 or email contactus@hbws.org.

About the 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, visit www.boardofwatersupply.com, follow @BWSHonolulu or like the BWS’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/BWSHonolulu.

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Contact:

Kathleen Elliott-Pahinui
Information Officer
Honolulu Board of Water Supply
Phone: (808) 748-5319