Dry Molokai has little enough water, none at all for La'au Point

The Maui News
Sunday, May 20, 2007

VIEWPOINT
By GLENN I. TEVES

I feel compelled to respond to the May 13 article on Molokai Ranch's La'au development. There's strong community opposition to this project, as evidenced in a community vote that took place earlier this year.

The vote to fill two seats on the Enterprise Community board matched two anti-La'au development candidates against two pro-La'au candidates seeking re-election. The vote, monitored by the Hawaii League of Women voters, saw two anti-La'au candidates winning by an overwhelming margin of 2 to 1. The community has spoken, and it said "no" to La'au.

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.

Several attempts were made at establishing sugar plantations across most of the south coast and even upland at Kalae to no avail. As a result, many of the wells have gone brackish due to overpumping to feed these thirsty fields. Even the predecessors to Molokai Ranch, American Sugar Co., threw in the towel as most of their wells stopped producing sweet water. For this reason, Molokai is one of the few major islands where king sugar didn't have a foothold.

Instead, pineapple was king since it was adapted to our arid conditions. This crop required a little over 20 inches of rain, evenly distributed throughout the year for optimal growth. About 17,274 acres of pineapple flourished on Molokai until foreign competition forced a phase-out, starting in 1975, with the last field harvested in 1989.

Today, the island is facing long-term drought with more than 10 years of below-normal rainfall. Each summer, farmers are being asked to cut back on their water use, in some years as much as 40 percent. Molokai is also one of the most "height challenged" of the major islands, with the highest point at 4,970 feet, which limits its ability to harvest rain from the clouds. The configuration of our island, with high cliffs to the north and downward slopes to the south, and venturi between Maui and Lanai, high winds are the norm, especially in Hoolehua where most of the ag production takes place. These constant winds desiccate our crops and create high water evaporation rates in our soil.

Increasing drought is part of a statewide trend, based on recent research conducted by the UH Department of Meteorology and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Their research showed that the last 15 years of rainfall decreased by 15 percent over the last 50 years. In the last 15 years, there was a 25 percent decrease over the previous 15 years of rainfall. This coincides with a mid-1970s climate change, including increasing tropical sea surface temperatures. The writing is on the wall.

As a result of this drought, one of the two wells supplying Kaunakakai town has gone brackish. This is a crisis situation, yet no one seems to feel this sense of urgency. What is even more appalling is the County of Maui anticipates drilling a new well for the town in 2011. By that time, it would be more cost effective for Kaunakakai residents to bathe in the ocean.

Adding to this crisis is the State Commission on Water Resource Management insisting that the county decrease its reliance on the other well supplying Kaunakakai. This well, located in the Kualapuu well field is adjacent to two Hawaiian Homes domestic wells supplying Hoolehua and Kalamaula and there's concern that this State Water Management area is nearing its sustainable yield levels.

A meeting held last August by the county, with the U.S. Geological Survey present, laid out this grave scenario. Molokai Ranch was also present, as well as Hawaiian Homes. USGS Hydrologist Delwyn Oki stated that he doesn't believe that Hawaiian Homes can get their reservation of 2.9 million gallons of water for their future expansion, as set aside by the State Commission on Water Resource Management.

On top of this, Molokai Ranch is applying for a permit to withdraw 1 million gallons per day of brackish water behind Kaunakakai town for their proposed La'au Point project. Developers such as Molokai Ranch have their heads in the sand by saying "one last development" when we don't even have enough water for our present needs. Present needs must be addressed before future developments are approved.

Gentlemen estates or "fake farms" on West Molokai are also muddying up the water, so to speak, since landowners are now attempting to subdivide their lots. There's a potential for over 1,000 additional lots that were not planned for this area. Where will this water come from?

As a member of the Molokai General Plan Advisory Committee, I think it's fine to plan for the future but it all starts and ends with water. To have land-use zoning as the driver for new development is wrong, if not laughable. It starts with drinking water. If we don't have enough water and respect present water reservations, then development projects such as La'au shouldn't be allowed to move forward.

Glenn I. Teves is a member of the Molokai General Plan Advisory Committee. He is a homestead farmer, a University of Hawaii extension agent and former member of the Molokai Water Working Group. He lives in Hoolehua.