State and county officials are closely watching dams statewide following recent heavy rain and are continuing stability assessments set into motion by last month's twin earthquakes.

Engineers yesterday worked with state and county Civil Defense officials to monitor dams on Kaua'i, and in Wahiawa, Nu'uanu and Waimanalo on O'ahu, according to the state Department of Land and Natural resources. They also tracked the level of water at Lake Wilson in Wahiawa and at the Nu'uanu reservoir, said Ray Lovell, spokesman for state Civil Defense.

By the time a flash flood warning for O'ahu expired at 1:30 p.m. yesterday, water remained at safe levels in reservoirs and streams.

"The water is draining right now but we're watching it," said John Cummings, spokesman for O'ahu Civil Defense.

Engineers with the state Department of Land and Natural resources had been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to inspect 84 high-hazard dams since two earthquakes rattled the state Oct. 15, said Deborah Ward, DLNR spokeswoman.

DLNR engineers were on Kaua'i, O'ahu and on their way to look at dams on Moloka'i and Lana'i when the rain moved in yesterday morning, she said.

"Nothing is in imminent danger that has been reported to me and the inspection process is ongoing irrespective of the uncomfortable weather that is out there," said Peter Young, DLNR chairman. The weather "is a nuisance and some of the dams and reservoirs are located in areas that require a four-wheel drive to access. The weather is impacting everyone (working on the assessments) but it has not been reported as a serious problem to me."

A series of statewide meetings with dam and reservoir owners is also taking place this week. Young said the meetings are intended to help owners understand the inspection process and what they need to do to bring themselves into compliance with state regulations.

A progress report on the number of dams inspected and their current condition was not immediately available yesterday.

Initial inspections on the Big Island and Maui have been completed by DLNR engineers and the corps. The federal Bureau of Reclamation completed Maui dam inspections late last month and no further inspections of Maui dams will be conducted by the corps.

STAY OUT OF THE WATER

The heavy rains have also created runoff problems, and the state issued an advisory asking residents to avoid stormwater.

The state Department of Health cautioned people to stay out of the ocean, reservoirs, streams, and ponding water because heavy rains create runoff that may contain harmful substances.

"Overall, it's not a good time to be going into the water because we have a lot of issues with runoff ... and we can't control what's going on in the water," said Janice Okubo, spokeswoman for the state DOH. "We have a lot of issues with runoff because fertilizers and other chemicals make their way into the water."

Two wastewater treatment facilities experienced overflow during the last two days, according to DOH.

A sewer line on Lilipuna Road and an overflow at the Kane'ohe pump treatment facility released a total of 4,800 gallons of sewage over the last two days, according to Watson Okubo, section chief for DOH's water monitoring and analysis division.

"We've been pretty much lucky. We don't have the sewer overflows we've had in the past (during heavy rains)," said Okubo. "We're also watching for stormwaters and floodwaters going into coastal waters and because of the flood warnings and observations from my staff on other islands we issued a groundwater advisory for the entire state. We're asking people to stay out of coastal waters affected by the runoff."

If a private sewer or wastewater system overflows and spills out into the public domain, the wastewater management system's owner is responsible for taking samples and submitting them to the state, according to the Department of Health.

Reach Peter Boylan at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.