The Board of Water Supply (BWS) wants the public to know that there people pretending to be BWS employees to gain access to the homes of customers.

This is especially during Summer when families are away on vacation and criminals may be scouting for vacant homes.

In one incident, a Kaimuki resident confronted a man trespassing on her property. He said he was there to fix her broken water meter.

The resident noted that the man was in an aloha shirt and knew that the meter is on the sidewalk. She also did not see a BWS vehicle parked nearby. She started to ask the man a lot of questions and he left.

In another incident, a Salt Lake resident observed two men wearing non-BWS attire with orange vests looking at her water meter. They quickly left in a red sedan when the resident went outside to look more closely to observe them.

The BWS says that if you are approached by someone saying they are from the BWS, all personnel involved in official BWS activities will be properly credentialed: wearing official BWS attire with the BWS logo, driving BWS labeled vehicles, and carrying an official City and County of Honolulu badge, with the agency identified as the BWS. See attached photos.

More photos of official BWS attire and vehicles can be viewed here.

Additionally, the BWS:

does not conduct leak detection on customer property nor inside the residence.

does not schedule appointments outside its regular business hours of 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Monday-Friday.

Residents who want to confirm the validity of an individual claiming to be a BWS employee may call the BWS at 748-5000 or call the Honolulu Police Department (HPD) at 911, if they are suspicious of an individual’s credentials.

Notifying HPD will alert them to be on the lookout while on their patrols. Customers may also call the BWS at 748-5041 to file an additional report.