I ran into the Board of Water Supply minutes of their meeting in late November.

The minutes included detailed charts and graphs concerning hiring, positions filled and filled, construction contracts, and water main breaks and repairs.

But those details were remarkably absent from the report on water levels in the system, which was presented Ina few paragraphs with no recorded discussion.

The emphasis in this excerpt is my own.

From the November 27, 2017 meeting of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.

GROUNDWATER LEVELS

Chair and Members
Board of Water Supply
City and County of Honolulu Honolulu, Hawaii 96843

Chair and Members:

Subject: Status Update of Groundwater Levels at All Index Stations

There was one aquifer index well within low groundwater status for the production month of September 2017. Punaluu has been in caution status since the week of June 18, 2017. The monthly production average for September 2017 was 153.90 million gallons per day (mgd).

The Board of Water Supply rainfall index for the month of September 2017 was 61 percent of normal; with a 5-month moving average of 84 percent. As of October 5, 2017, the Hawai‘i Drought Monitor shows abnormally dry conditions for most of Oahu and moderate drought conditions for the Leeward Coast of Oahu from Ewa to Makaha.

The National Weather Service forecast models are predicting La Niña conditions to develop this winter, raising probabilities of above normal rainfall this Winter and into Spring 2018.

Most monitoring wells are exhibiting decreasing head level trends due to the increased pumpage during the summer and fall months.