Street closed, but school stays open

Angelina Yick
December 16, 2009
Filed under Features, Uncategorized

Students arriving at school Dec. 9 found a big hole on Kamoku Street after a water main broke, affecting traffic but not the school’s water supply.

The unexpected break was discovered by Mr. John Waipa, a security guard, around 4 a.m. He promptly called the Board of Water Supply.

“He was in the process of doing a perimeter check around campus when he noticed there was water on the road near the Weinberg parking structure, where the Kamoku plant operations are,” said Mrs. Lidia Beier, head of security at ‘Iolani School. “At first, we thought it was a broken water sprinkler, but later on we discovered it was a water main break.”

Security then reported to Lloyd Stern, superintendent of the physical plant, and Mr. Tate Brown, Dean of Students. The news eventually reached Headmaster Val Iwashita. If the school did not have water, it would be closed for the day, and Mr. Brown would send messages to students and their families, stating that the students would have the day off.

“Around 4:20, the Board of Water Supply trucks came and checked to see if there was water on campus. The water main break didn’t affect water on campus; that’s why school wasn’t cancelled,” said Mrs. Beier.

Part of Kamoku Street was closed in order for the Board of Water Supply to fix the break. Because of this incident, traffic had to be diverted.

“We had to increase the number of HPD and security officers to smooth out the flow of traffic,” said Mrs. Beier. “We had good communication, which explains why things went smoothly.”