Purchase of water company would be a good investment
Our County
Every year the United States loses 1.7 trillion gallons of drinking water to faulty, aging or leaky pipes, according to the U.S. Water Alliance, a nonprofit conglomeration of utilities, businesses and environmental organizations dedicated toward educating the public about the need for investment in safe and efficient water systems.
The alliance’s research also shows this country has 237,600 water main breaks a year. That’s 700 a day, or almost one a minute.
The average age of our water pipes is 47 years. Older, more urban cities like Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and New York have pipes older than 75 years.
The nationwide tab to fix our water issues? Some $4.8 trillion. As much as I would like to compare some of these numbers locally, we just don’t have the same data available. I do know that for fiscal year 2017 we had 166 mainline breaks on Maui and Molokai, one of which was due to the Iao Valley flood washing away a section of pipeline.
As far as a countywide tab to fix our water issues, there is no magic amount available. However, I do know that for $9.5 million we can make a good investment in our water resources for generations to come, if we use it to purchase the Wailuku Water Co.
Back in 2000, Maui County had an opportunity to purchase 13,167 acres of watershed from what was then called Wailuku Agribusiness for approximately $27 million. The county chose not to do so.
Now we have a second chance to do the right thing. This time the deal is for 8,764 acres of land in the West Maui watershed for $9.5 million.
Currently, the county pays WWC $250,000 a year for 3 million gallons of water annually. Besides that cost savings we could also return surface water to streams and the community at large while at the same time remove a public resource from private ownership.
But before we buy we must first assess, which is why the Maui County Council last month approved the funds needed to appraise WWC.
Approximately $150,000 will be used to pay for an appraisal of WWC property and infrastructure so council members can make an informed decision.
Our community needs this water returned to us. According to our Department of Water Supply, 70 percent of our island community relies upon groundwater for our drinking needs. Our groundwater in turn is part of our hydrologic cycle and is recharged by rain, fog drip and surface water infiltrating the soil, which then reaches the water table below.
Using our current water infrastructure, we can move that water supply from ground or stream sources to where it needs to be. That’s some 750 miles of underground pipes bringing more than 32 million gallons for water every day to homes and businesses.
I hope all of you will support the purchase of WWC if or when the time comes to make a decision. Your council members will need to hear feedback from the community as part of their process.
Public resources belong in public hands.
* “Our County,” a column from Maui County Mayor Alan Arakawa, discusses county issues and activities of county government. The column usually appears on the first and third Fridays of the month.