Ainaloa wants county water

November 5, 2009 - Hilo, Hawaii
VIDEO by David Corrigan

In a strong show of force during Wednesday's Hawaii County Council meeting, residents of the Ainaloa section of Puna brandished "we need water" signs and testified that they do not want to exist on catchment systems and roadside spigots any longer.

The display came in the early morning session before the council organized a priority list requesting federal assistance for island-wide capital improvement projects.

The Puna residents wanted to impress upon the councilmembers that the need to finish a county water line through the area is of dire need.

Although Puna councilwoman Emily Naeole was not present, many of the other councilmembers agreed that the need for county water in Ainaloa was an issue of public health, and indicated they would rank the project with a high priority.