HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The state Department of Education said E. coli bacteria was detected in the water at Konawaena Elementary School and steps were taken to ensure the safety of students and staff – while keeping the school open.

Some parents choose to leave their children at home.

“They say there’s something wrong with our water and that the kids don’t have drinking water or can’t even wash their hands. To me, that’s a red flag,” said mother Joy Smith, who kept her kindergartener and third-grader home on Wednesday because she wanted to know her children were safe rather than sick.

“To be honest, I think if it’s not clean, they won’t come.”

On Tuesday afternoon, the school notified families of a water problem on campus and said filtered water would be provided.

Campus sources told HNN that the installation of a new boiler may have been the reason for the first water test that detected E. coli. No one on campus has access to running water, faucets are shut off and disinfectants are available instead. Students and staff can flush the toilets.

But Smith, who runs the school’s after-school program, said staff cannot clean effectively, so she has to keep her keiki at home until the problem is resolved.

“If the bathrooms can’t be properly disinfected and cleaned like we did here for Class A+, then I’m not going to send them there because I don’t want them to get sick. I don’t want them to get sick,” Smith said.

In a statement, the DOE said the state Department of Health is conducting additional testing to confirm initial detection of E. coli in the water. It has also installed water trailers and portable handwashing stations, moved school food preparation to Konawaena High School, and provided bottled water and hand sanitizer. School operations are operating as usual.

Despite the precautions, parents like Smith expressed concern.

“I understand that they don’t want to alarm people, but at the same time, I think we as parents have a right to know a little bit more detail just because it’s about the health and safety of our children,” Smith said. “If there’s no running water, it can’t be clean.”

“They should just close the school for the rest of the week so all they have to do is clean everything up, fix the problem and start again on Monday,” she added.

The school’s latest update states that results from Wednesday’s water testing are expected to be available by Thursday afternoon.

Christopher Shuler, a researcher at the University of Hawaii’s Water Resources Research Center, explained that municipal drinking water is typically disinfected with chlorine or chloramine to kill E. coli and other bacteria and viruses.

“The E. coli bacteria itself is a little tricky in Hawaii because on the mainland it generally only comes from some kind of fecal contamination (sewage or animal waste). In Hawaii, however, our tropical soils allow the bacteria to survive in the environment. So even our cleanest rivers often have E. coli levels that come only from the soil and the environment and not necessarily from sewage or anything like that,” Shuler said.

He said private water sources such as wells or stream diversions are more vulnerable to contamination because they are not as well regulated.

HNN has reached out to DOE and DOH to inquire about possible causes of the water contamination and what steps would be taken if E. coli levels reached dangerous levels. A response has not been received.

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