06-25-2017, 03:28 AM
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/news/loca...strictions
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/opinion/l...rs-6-25-17
It never ceases to amaze me the way County DWS, with a real operating budget and years of experience, hasn't learned basic lessons that I figured out in my first year here: use standard off-the-shelf parts and always keep spares on-hand (especially if anything was shipped or special-ordered -- which I extend to include "not from Depot/Walmart", because the good specialty suppliers are typically closed on weekends).
Apparently the custom-made one-off pumps/motors take 4-6 months to build/ship, and that's after going out for bid, so it takes the better part of a year to replace something "critical" that's part of "necessary infrastructure".
Meanwhile, we on the East Side get by just fine without piped water, by collecting catchment, keeping storage tanks, and refilling them with deliveries in times of drought -- and none of our "infrastructure" is high-tech, nor does it require a year's lead time to replace.
How many things are wrong with this picture?
Kona residents further "choose" to be "fully dependent" -- it really wouldn't cost that much to keep a 500-gallon tank of "spare" water so that life doesn't come to a grinding halt every time DWS can't keep the pumps going. If I lived in Kona, you can bet I would have a tank or two in the side yard, and a DC water pump for HELCO outages...
http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/opinion/l...rs-6-25-17
It never ceases to amaze me the way County DWS, with a real operating budget and years of experience, hasn't learned basic lessons that I figured out in my first year here: use standard off-the-shelf parts and always keep spares on-hand (especially if anything was shipped or special-ordered -- which I extend to include "not from Depot/Walmart", because the good specialty suppliers are typically closed on weekends).
Apparently the custom-made one-off pumps/motors take 4-6 months to build/ship, and that's after going out for bid, so it takes the better part of a year to replace something "critical" that's part of "necessary infrastructure".
Meanwhile, we on the East Side get by just fine without piped water, by collecting catchment, keeping storage tanks, and refilling them with deliveries in times of drought -- and none of our "infrastructure" is high-tech, nor does it require a year's lead time to replace.
How many things are wrong with this picture?
Kona residents further "choose" to be "fully dependent" -- it really wouldn't cost that much to keep a 500-gallon tank of "spare" water so that life doesn't come to a grinding halt every time DWS can't keep the pumps going. If I lived in Kona, you can bet I would have a tank or two in the side yard, and a DC water pump for HELCO outages...