Remember that all uses of water have a cost
When it comes to water, be careful of what you wish for!
Right now, A&B, Maui Land & Pine and East Maui Irrigation pay tens of thousands of dollars to maintain the miles and miles of water system that is used by them and island residents. If these folks were no longer the “users,” would they continue to maintain and pay for this very expensive system and its upkeep? I doubt it.
If it was the county’s, then guess who winds up paying? The taxpayers. Think your water bills are high now? Just guess what they could really be!
In addition, no or not enough water for A&B and ML&P? Then thousands of acres of fallow land with dust and overgrowth to match will result. Not pretty!
So, before throwing stones and making threats, let’s allow A&B, etc., time to generate a cohesive plan that allows for diversified agriculture, supervised management of the water resource, as well as judicious sharing of the water in terms of serving only those absolute needs for the betterment of the entire community without taking on costs that the taxpayers can ill afford to pay for. Having no quarrel with cultural practices and traditional farming, remember that all water uses have a “cost” and the taxpayer foots the bill.
Ray Phillips
Kihei