Army supplying 250 gallons per to Kunia Village

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS -- In coordination with the Governor's Office, the U.S. Army is pumping much-needed water to the residents and farmers of Kunia Village after their sole water supply pump failed.

Officials with the Hawaii Department of Health deemed the emergency water shortage an immediate threat to life and public health, and contacted the Army for assistance, Jan. 24.

U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii quickly mobilized to provide drinking water from its Schofield Barracks facilities, exercising Department of Defense immediate response authority to provide support to civil authorities.

Aqua Engineers Inc., the garrison's wastewater utility provider, is also providing recycled, or R1, water for irrigation needs.

The Army garrison reactivated an emergency connection it had installed between the Schofield and Kunia water systems in October 2016 during a previous pump failure, and is currently pumping drinking water at the rate of 250 gallons per minute to Kunia Village.

The Army intends to continue to provide water to Kunia Village until the pump repairs are complete.

"We're happy to be able to help our neighbors again," said Col. Stephen Dawson, commander, USAG-HI. "No one should be without water, and fortunately, we have the ability to make sure that doesn't happen."

This is the second time in recent months the Army has provided emergency water to Kunia Village. In late October and early November, the Army provided 2.1 million gallons of drinking water during a pump failure, and Aqua Engineers Inc. provided 16.8 million gallons of recycled water for irrigation needs.