Honolulu Council May Try To Take Over Water Board

Katherine Poythress/Civil Beat

Water fight!

No, this one has nothing to do with balloons or hoses. Instead, the Honolulu City Council will soon start its push to end the Board of Water Supply's "semi-autonomous" reign over one of the island's most precious natural resources.

Budget Committee Chair Ann Kobayashi told Civil Beat last week she's already been working with city lawyers to bring the water board under the control of the Council and Mayor Peter Carlisle. They're crafting a resolution that would give voters a chance to approve a Charter amendment in the 2012 election in November.

The seven-member Board of Water Supply was created in 1929 and has been semi-autonomous ever since. It serves as the steward of the island's fresh water resources, a responsibility that includes regulating and protecting watersheds and setting rates for consumer water use.

The money residents pay for their water is kept separate from the city government's general fund and is supposed to be used to provide water and maintain the system of pipes needed to do so.

But Council leadership doesn't want things to remain separate, and says the new rate hikes already impact city operations.

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