A recent analysis of water consumption patterns on the Windward side of Oʻahu reveals that golf courses, large resorts, and the Marine Corps Base are the state’s most significant consumers of water.
In 2024, the urban center of Honolulu, which comprises 23% of the state’s population, accounted for nearly 40% of Hawaii’s water consumption, highlighting a stark contrast in urban versus rural resource usage.
The metropolitan area, home to approximately 345,000 residents, utilized more water than the combined total of the three other counties in the state.
Despite this high usage, it does not necessarily imply that city dwellers consume more water compared to their rural counterparts.
Several notable water users in Honolulu include large-scale facilities like the airport and the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa, although precise data delineating the breakdown of water usage among industries, irrigation, and residential areas remains limited.
The Board of Water Supply reports that the average single-family household in Honolulu County uses about 9,000 gallons of water monthly.
However, golf courses, large resorts, and industrial entities dominate the list of the biggest water users.
According to newly released transportation statistics for 2024, the Marine Corps Base in Kāneʻohe consumes approximately 7,000 times more water per month than the typical Honolulu County resident.
Interestingly, golf courses alone represented almost one-third of the major water consumers throughout Oʻahu in 2024, with one situated at the Marine Corps Base leading the chart.
Additionally, several resorts, such as the Hilton Hawaiian Village Disney Vacation Resort & Spa and the Sheraton in Waikīkī, are listed among the top 25 water users on the island.
Industrial consumers like Hawaiian Cement and United Laundry Services, which provide services to the healthcare and hospitality sectors, also figure prominently in these rankings.
Even with abundant ocean surroundings, fresh water is becoming increasingly scarce in Hawaiʻi.
Parts of Maui and the Big Island are facing imminent drought conditions, and many hillsides appear dry amid the summer heat.
To combat these challenges, certain areas within the state have been designated as Groundwater Management Areas, which allows officials to enhance protections for crucial aquifers.
Encouragingly, water consumption across the state has seen a slight decline.
The 2024 data suggests a decrease of about 4% in annual water usage compared to 2022, translating to nearly 3 billion gallons less on a statewide level.
In 2022, the Honolulu County Board of Water Supply initiated a campaign urging consumers to cut their water usage by 10% due to concerns over potential shortages stemming from the Navy’s fuel contamination crisis at Red Hill.
Nevertheless, achieving this goal has proven difficult given the complexities of water consumption patterns.
Gaining insights into specific county-level water usage and its drivers remains challenging due to the scarcity of recent data, with the latest comprehensive information from the U.S. Geological Survey dating back a decade.
“Data Dive” is supported in part by the Will J. Reid Foundation.
A previous version of this article contained inaccuracies regarding measurement scales.
image source from：civilbeat
