The county has been making good progress in testing the water systems for VOC’s. They are sharing results on a map HERE and are also posting all of the lab reports HERE. In order to help community members sort through…
Author: Chris Shuler (page 2)
View “Environmental Health Impacts of the Maui Wildfires”, a seminar by UH Public Health ExpertsAugust 31, 2023
This seminar was presented by Catherine Pirkle, Ph.D. and Rosana Hernandez Weldon, Ph.D., M.P.H. of the Office of Public Health Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. It covers a deep dive into the existing…
UH-WRRC Summarizes First Round of VOC Test ResultsAugust 27, 2023
We have analyzed results from our first round of non-regulatory community testing in and outside of the Kula burn area. We did NOT detect any of the 23 state regulated VOC’s in excess of US-EPA health standards. We did detect…
Hawaii Department of Health Releases Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) Fact SheetAugust 27, 2023
Please see this link to read about VOCs and find US EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels for 21 regulated VOC’s
Is the water in affected areas safe for pets and livestock?
Unfortunately there is little science on specific VOC toxicology amongst non-human animals. DWS has not offered guidance because of this information gap. Our team’s recommendations on these types of questions is to take a balanced approach to minimize risks from…
My home never lost water pressure, is my water safe?
Even if the pipes in your home were continually pressurized, portions of the water systems affected by the advisories lost pressure which introduces the possibility that contamination from other properties could have entered the system thereby introducing contamination into the…
Is water within the advisory area safe for watering plants?
Maui DWS consulted with agricultural specialists and determined that to the best of their knowledge, watering plants should be OK. This is based on the logic that VOC’s, which are the primary contamination type of concern, should dissipate into the…
Community Meeting Highlights, Updates from DWSAugust 24, 2023
DWS shared a number of updates with the hundreds of community members who showed up at the Kula Community Center tonight. DWS estimates the advisory may last for about 2 more weeks, depending on sample results. Homes in fire damaged…
UH-WRRC working on preliminary testing resultsAugust 24, 2023
We have received analytical data from our first round of community sampling. It will take us a couple of days to process the data and report results to homeowners and state and county offices before posting the data on this…
Maui DWS Posts Water Quality Testing ResultsAugust 23, (evening) 2023
Maui DWS has posted results from their initial round of water system sampling on 8-14-23 HERE. Maui County has also issued a news release (sent to us over email) and included the following information on detections: “One sample in Lāhainā…