Water Issues

Wailuku Water asks to become a public utility
Move would allow it to maintain control over West Maui waters
Wailuku Water Distribution Co. is seeking permission from the state to organize as a public utility in order to continue service, set new water rates and keep its contracts. Essentially, being a utility would allow Wailuku Water to stay in the water business as it faces an ongoing dispute over water rights with farmers, environmentalists and Native Hawaiians. 05.11.08

Tug of war over rights to East Maui stream water
And then, just after you round the bend and drive past the sweeping full-on view of deep, beautiful Honomanu Bay, traffic slowed to a crawl as cars threaded by crowds of Hawaiian taro farmers from all the major islands standing on the road and on the bridge, holding signs and passing out literature, trying to raise awareness and inform people passing by about the fact that massive amounts of stream water - the water they rely on to grow taro and feed their families - have been diverted by East Maui Irrigation Company for years. The farmers are demanding, once again but more emphatically than ever, that the water be restored to those streams. They are demanding justice. 05.08.08

'Crying' for Water – Anger resurfaces in hearing on East Maui stream flows
During an often highly emotional public meeting late last week on a petition seeking the return of sugar company-controlled water to five perennial streams in East Maui, Native Hawaiian taro farmers made it clear again and again that they need more water to grow their staple crop. The meeting was in response to a petition filed on behalf of local taro farmers seven years ago by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. The petitioners said they actually want to see 27 streams restored. Because most of the streams have been diverted by East Maui Irrigation Co. mauka of Hana Highway, the natural water channels have been left as empty gulches that fill only during downpours.
(Read a brief report here by Alan Murakami of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation as his offers his perspective on the meeting) 04.10.08

Mayor proposes $31.25 million toward new water infrastructure
"We're in a situation for the first time in history that we need to conserve water in Central Maui," the first-term mayor said. "Water is our number one priority." To prove she means it, the mayor will devote $31.25 million in county, state and federal funds toward water infrastructure. Tavares said it was important to note that $7.5 million of those funds will go toward developing new water sources in Waikapu, Iao, Haiku, West Maui and Molokai. 03.17.08

State to control Maui streams
Final testimony delivered in contested case hearing over Na Wai 'Eha streams
A state commission has decided to take over management of four major streams in central Maui. The decision Thursday marks the first time that the Commission on Water Resource Management has voted to designate a surface water management area. Read four stories to get the full picture of the consequences of this court case. 03.16.08

Fact-finding slowing verdict on stream flow, say attorneys
The state Commission on Water Resource Management will hold an unusual fact-gathering public meeting on water flows in 27 streams in the East Maui watershed on April 10. The meeting will be from 5 to 9 p.m. at the Haiku Community Center.
The streams are the subject of petitions filed by Na Moku 'Aupuni o Ko'olau Hui and three East Maui taro growers, represented by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp., to establish permanent instream flow standards. The petitions seek to re-establish flows in streams in the Honopou, Hanehoi, Piinaau, Waiokamilo and Wailuanui units that are now diverted by the East Maui Irrigation Co. system.
NHLC attorneys Alan Murakami and Moses Haia III said that they consider the special meeting a stalling tactic, but they said Tuesday that they expect to be there to present their view of the rights of Native Hawaiians and other "holders of superior rights" to use of water from the streams, which are now tapped by EMI for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. and Maui Pineapple Co., and by the Department of Water Supply. 03.12.08

Study: Management affecting water, but EPA finds Upcountry system meets health, safety standards
Lack of communication and coordination, understaffing, and inadequate training all are preventing the Upcountry water system from performing as well as it should, according to a study conducted by a team of EPA scientists. The study found that the system meets basic regulations for safety, but water quality is being affected by poor communication, management conflicts and other issues. Low morale, "complacency" and unreliable equipment and facilities are also problems, the study found. 03.11.08

First annual Maui water resource forum: "e malama i ka wai"
Hawaiians defined wealth as ‘wai wai’; ‘wai’ means water. Among the other definitions of wai is – costly. If nothing else becomes apparent during this decade, both the preciousness and the costliness of water consumption and waste will gain prominence in Maui. 12.18.07

Water, Water Everywhere – Are Maui's water resources properly managed?
Both before and after the Kona winds blew and torrents of rain fell on Maui, a great confluence of discussion and debate has been taking place about the nature and legalities of our water resources. In Wailuku, the State Commission on Water Resource Management began a contested case hearing on the distribution of the water from the four major streams-Na Wai Eha-of the West Maui Mountains.
A hui of groups, including EarthJustice and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, is seeking to establish in-stream flow standards for stream wildlife, as has been required by the state Water Code since 1987. The Hui o Na Wai Eha and Maui Tomorrow, partners to the contested case, also join in seeking to preserve traditional and customary water uses, such as growing taro.
On Dec. 7, the Maui County Council passed the so-called "Show Me the Water" ordinance, three years after the bill was introduced. Council Water Resources Committee Chairperson Michelle Anderson spearheaded the bill, and brought the debate on the matter to the point that it passed unanimously. 12.13.07

State water commission will hold meetings in Maui County
The state Commission on Water Resource Management will hold three meetings in Maui County this month as part of proposed revisions to the state Water Resources Protection Plan. Originally prepared in 1990, the updated plan draft takes into account new and better information such as hydrologic data and land-use changes. It also includes policies set by the commission and/or the Hawaii Supreme Court. 12.09.07

Flow being restricted, kuleana owners say
Diannah Goo recalls the way kuleana water was delivered in the old days. "There was water flowing through the cane fields 66 years ago," she testified at the contested case for Na Wai Eha. She remembered precisely, because she recalled what she did on the original Pearl Harbor Day.
From her family's land in Waihee Valley - land for which the family received title in the Great Mahele - the children had to hike up the hill and fill buckets from a ditch. Her family still has land, but not much water.
Goo was one of several landowners with kuleana rights who told their stories. Each was different in detail but the same in substance - they don't get as much water as they used to or as they believe they are entitled to. 12.08.07

EarthJustice seeks order for controlled discharges of water
In the third day of testimony on Na Wai Eha, EarthJustice put on testimony designed to encourage the State Commission on Water Resource Management to order controlled releases of water into the streams to help determine what permanent in-stream flow standards should be. The expert witness, hydrologist Delwyn Oki of the U.S. Geological Survey, had to tread a fine line. As a federal employee he is not allowed to make recommendations or even offer opinions about the dispute over diversion of water from streams.
EarthJustice attorney Kapua Sproat quizzed him about how much information there is about Na Wai Eha - the Iao, Waihee, Waikapu and Waiehu streams. Not enough to answer important questions, said Oki. For example, he said he could not say unequivocally that Waiehu Stream would be a perennial river from its mauka sources to the mouth at the ocean if water were not diverted from it. 12.07.07

Na Wai Eha
Office of Hawaiian Affairs Chairwoman Haunani Apoliona launched the long-awaited Na Wai Eha contested case hearings Monday by calling for lokahi (harmony) in deciding what to do about Maui's key water sources.
"The key to our position here is consistent with our advisory role," she said, "and that is that the streams should be healthy, the streams should be running. No shortcuts."
OHA joined in a petition filed three years ago by Hui O Na Wai 'Eha and Maui Tomorrow to require the state Commission on Water Resource Management to set in-stream flow standards for Na Wai Eha - the famous "Four Waters" of Iao, Waihee, Waiehu and Waikapu streams. 12.04.07

OHA trustees updated on water contested case
The trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs got an update from their staff and encouragement from Mayor Charmaine Tavares Thursday on their part in the Na Wai Eha contested case. First written submissions from the parties were due last week, and Dec. 3 to 14 has been set for taking testimony by Lawrence Miike, the hearings officer for the State Commission on Water Resource Management. In a letter read by Corporation Counsel Brian Moto, Tavares told the trustees that she has supported the efforts to restore stream flows as a council member and, "I would like to assure the Board of Trustees that this commitment continues." 09.21.07

Maui water meets state, federal standards
Annual Water Quality Monitoring Results reported to consumers around Maui County in July show all water systems are in compliance with state and federal standards, Department of Water Supply officials said Thursday. The reports sent to consumers last month indicate some contamination by agricultural chemicals in two systems, and contamination by a number of naturally occurring substances - barium, chromium and nitrates. But testing of water at sources and in the distribution systems found none of the chemicals exceeded or even approached the allowable maximum contaminant levels established by the Environmental Protection Agency or the state Department of Health. 08.10.07

Dry Molokai has little enough water, none at all for La'au Point
Molokai has a long history of drought relative to the neighboring islands. Molokai is very arid, and for this very reason was bypassed in the late 1700s and 1800s by sailing ships looking to replenish their water supplies. 05.20.07

County joins plea for designation of Wailuku streams
Mayor Charmaine Tavares joined a cross-section of Maui residents, from environmental activists to Wailuku taro farmers, in urging the state to designate the four major streams of Central Maui for special management. Tavares told commissioners that competing demands for the water have increased as the county has grown. "Practices that may have been acceptable during the plantation era may not be appropriate today," she said. 04.28.07

Wailuku stream water issue heading toward showdown
About 30 people gathered at the Cameron Center to prepare for a hearing scheduled for April 26 on a petition to designate the surface waters of Na Wai Eha - the four major streams draining from the West Maui Mountains to Central Maui. Earthjustice, representing Hui O Na Wai Eha and Maui Tomorrow, has petitioned the State Commission on Water Resource Management to take control of surface water. The commission already has designated Iao aquifer's groundwater. 03.25.07

The State of Water Usage on Moloka`i – Water Battle Begins
Water is one of the key issues in the controversial Molokai Ranch Enterprise Community (EC) plan, but not only for La`au Point. In the La`au Point Environmental Impact Statement, Molokai Ranch addresses water by stating that they are in discussions over water usage with Hawaiian Homes and the County of Maui, but the fact is Hawaiian Homes cannot negotiate any of their water rights. This was attempted in the mid-1980's when then-chairperson Ilima Pi'ianaia tried to turn the Hawaiian Homes domestic water system over to the County of Maui. The Attorney General stated that Hawaiian Homes has no authority to give away their rights. If anything, both DHHL and OHA have a fiduciary responsibility to protect the water rights of native Hawaiian rights under the Hawaiian Homes Act. That's why it is strange that a Hawaiian Homes Commissioner and an OHA trustee support a plan that will steal water from the future Hawaiian homesteads. 01.23.07

Citizens Seek State Oversight For Central Maui Streams
(download a PDF file of our press release here)
Earthjustice, on behalf of two Maui community groups, Hui o Nä Wai ‘Ehä and Maui Tomorrow Foundation, Inc., filed an action urging the state Commission on Water Resource Management to assume regulatory control over Central Maui’s streams, traditionally known as “Nä Wai ‘Ehä” or “The Four Great Waters”. This petition to “designate” Nä Wai `Ehä a water management area seeks state regulation to end illegal attempts by two Maui companies to monopolize Nä Wai ‘Ehä’s water resources.
“This is 2006, not 1906, and the days when plantations were able to hold the people of Maui hostage by monopolizing their life-giving waters are long gone,” said Earthjustice Attorney Kapua Sproat. “No one is above the law, and this action merely asks the Water Commission to provide Nä Wai ‘Ehä’s streams and communities with the protection that the law requires”. 12.06.06
(also read Groups seek to restrict water diversions) 12.07.06

Pipeline worries Water Coalition
Mayor Alan Arakawa’s activation of a contract to  install a 7.1 million dollar, 36” pipeline  has residents of north Maui confused and concerned. Construction of the pipeline, which will purportedly run from the Paia aquifer to the residential communities of Paia and  Spreckelsville continues despite the Maui County Council’s  unanimous approval of a bill banning the use of the Hamakuapoko wells  for human consumption. 12.05.06

Panel approves Maui gill net ban
The state Board of Land and Natural Resources has approved a rule to ban use of lay gill nets around Maui island, although some sections of the proposed rule affecting Molokai and other islands will be subject to further public hearings. 11.18.06

Weep No More Dry Tears – a poem by Victor Pellegrino. 11.01.06

Panel approves review of Upcountry water study
The County Council Water Resources Committee voted Wednesday to spend up to $40,000 on two reviews of Upcountry water, including a $500,000 report that found there is nothing wrong with it ... 10.20.06

Streams in Hawaii show slow decline
Streams make news when they overflow during a deluge, but a new federal study reveals that the flow in island streams has declined over the past 90 years. The trend may be bad news about a dwindling drinking water supply, according to the U.S. Geological Survey report released early in December ... 04.12.04

In Law We Trust
Can environmental legislation still protect the Commons? 04.12.04

Irrigation Ditches Wasting Water?
Surplus water regularly ends up being "dumped" ... 04.11.04

Mayor promises water for affordable housing project
Mayor Alan Arakawa said Tuesday that he has assured developer Jesse Spencer that there will be water available for Spencer's planned 100-acre affordable housing project in Waikapu. After already expending several thousand dollars on preliminary studies for the project, Spencer said he needed to know for sure that he will be able to proceed as planned through a "fast-track" process to build on the agricultural land. 08.07.03

The East Maui Watershed Partnership
Alex Michailidis moved to Maui and began working as Watershed Managing Coordinator for EMWP, the East Maui Watershed Partnership, which is "a voluntary effort among federal, state and private land owners to preserve and protect the 100,000 acre watershed on the windward side of Haleakala," ... 03.04.03

Water Use charts for Maui groundwater 2005