Future
of the
Water System
For fifty years the The Hawaii Department of Transportation Airports (HDOT-A) operated and maintained the water system at the airfield as part of its lease with the Army. Yet, HDOT-A no longer manages the water system because it constitutes a Diversion of Federal Funds. In July of 2024 DOT-A signed a new lease and passed the operation of the system on to Aqua Engineers. However, Aqua needs the water users to create a billing entity to collect fees from the private residences, businesses, and government agencies that use the water system.
What will the billing entity do?
The billing entity will be a cooperative group of water users that contribute to a group fund in order to pay for the ongoing operation and maintenance of the system as well as a reserve fund for future capitol improvements. These contributions will primarily take the shape of a fees tied to water usage quantities. The hope if for those fees to be similar to Hawaii Board of Water rates.
For comparison the Hawaii Board of Water rates on July 1st 2024 were $13.67 per 1,000 gallons and a meter charge of $52.57 for 2” meters.
The Water Group would have rates set by a board of directors. It would contract a water operator (Aqua) to maintain the system. It would either employ a management team or contract a property management company to bill users of the system.