bws logo black and white

For Immediate Release
April 14, 2020

Board of Water Supply Takes Up Haiku Stairs at April 27 Board Meeting

HONOLULU – The Board of Water Supply’s (BWS) board members will take up the issue of Haiku Stairs at their April 27, 2020, board meeting.

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) was published on January 23, 2020, and the 60-day challenge period ended in March 2020. While the FEIS did provide a thorough analysis of the alternatives, the BWS’s preferred action is removal of the stairs. Chief Engineer and Manager Ernest Lau stated, “The BWS’s mission is to provide Oahu residents with a safe, dependable, and affordable water supply. Managing Haiku Stairs draws BWS staff, financial, and other resources away from our core mission to efficiently and effectively meet the water demand of our customers.”

BWS will be providing a number of options for submitting testimony:

  • Email: haikustairstestimony@hbws.org. Testimony due by Monday, April 27, noon.
  • Mail: Board of Water Supply, 630 S. Beretania St., Honolulu, HI  96843; testimony due by Friday, April 24, 2020.
  • On-line: go to www.boardofwatersupply.com/haikustairs and fill out the testimony form.
  • Call-in: (808) 748-6040. Callers will be placed in a queue and brought up to testify one at a time.
  • In-person: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, in-person testimony before the board will not be accepted in observance of emergency stay-at-home mandates.
  • Video Conferencing: a station will be set up in the lobby of the main offices at 630 S. Beretania St. “In-person” testifiers can show up, sign in and will be brought in one at a time to testify via video.

All testimony received in advance of the meeting will be posted to the BWS website at www.boardofwatersupply.com/haikustairs.

Board Chair Bryan Andaya stated, “We know that this is matter of great significance and interest for the community, and we want to ensure all those who wish to testify will be given the opportunity.”

In addition to offering video conferencing and call-in testimony, the board has moved the start time of the meeting from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm so the public can “attend” the board meeting by watching Facebook Live on the BWS Facebook page or on their website at: www.boardofwatersupply.com/haikustairs.

It is expected the board will take action at the April 27 meeting.

The FEIS can be accessed at this link: http://oeqc2.doh.hawaii.gov/The_Environmental_Notice/2020-01-23-TEN.pdf or go to https://www.boardofwatersupply.com/community/haiku-stairs to access the FEIS.

For questions regarding the board meeting or Haiku Stairs, please call Kathleen Pahinui at (808) 748-5319.

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.

###


Contact:

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