HILO, Hawaii — The manager of the Hawaii County Department of Water Supply is pointing to insufficient funding as the cause of delays in constructing the Ocean View-Kahuku water system.

Milton Pavao says $6 million put up by the state in 2006 to build a well and storage system in Kau wasn't enough.

Pavao made the statement in a May 21 letter to Rep. Bob Herkes, chairman of a House committee formed to find out what happened to the money.

Pavao says part of the problem is that construction bids have often come in 50 percent or more over the budgeted amount.

Plans call for a well and storage system large enough to service four water-hauling trucks simultaneously. An exploratory well was finished in February 2009.

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Information from: Hawaii Tribune-Herald, http://www.hilohawaiitribune.com