WAILUKU — Anticipating abnormally dry conditions in Maui County to continue through the summer, the Maui Board of Water Supply on Thursday supported a drought-watch recommendation for the Upcountry water system.
The proposal by Water Director Jeff Eng will urge Upcountry residents and businesses to reduce usage by 5 percent. An appeal for Central Maui consumers to cut use by 10 percent issued last summer remains in effect, although water use on the system has been steadily creeping up since April.
According to Eng, Maui County’s water woes continue with abnormally low rainfall totals for the typically wet winter months and a probability of below-normal precipitation until at least October.
Maui County and most of the state has been rated as abnormally dry since early March by the U.S. Drought Monitor, with the West Molokai region sliding into moderate drought this week.
The advisory water board approved a resolution recommended by Eng to have Mayor Charmaine Tavares issue a drought-watch notice.
According to the board’s resolution, agricultural users will be exempt from the drought notice as they were last year, even when the department in August ordered mandatory 10 percent reductions by Upcountry water customers. The drought order was lifted after the island was deluged by a Kona storm in December.
Water board members on Thursday inserted a condition that the County Council and Tavares “immediately and publicly address what specific measures are being taken and funds allocated to increase water source and storage capacity in the Upcountry area.”
Several board members called on the administration to present them with options to consider, even a moratorium on installing new water meters in homes.
Board Member Michael Howden asked whether the county should join in petitions before the state Commission on Water Resource Management by taro farmers who want the water currently diverted for sugar crops placed back into 27 East Maui streams.
More of that water could serve the greater public, including Hawaiian Homes under development at Waiohuli-Keokea, he said.
In March, while presenting her annual budget, the mayor announced plans to devote $31.25 million in county, state and federal funds toward water infrastructure, including $3.5 million in seed money for a proposed $100 million, 300-million-gallon reservoir to augment the existing reservoirs in the Upcountry system.
At the time, 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. To help pay for it, the mayor and council supported a water rate increase.
Water board Chairman Lee Aldridge said he wanted to be certain that county leaders understand how important it is that they expedite development of new water sources.
While the water department continues to meet supply, it does so while sacrificing industry standards for redundancy.
“Our top five priorities are: finding new sources, finding new sources, finding new sources, finding new sources and finding new sources,” Eng said.
Maui County Farm Bureau Executive Director Warren Watanabe said his organization is looking forward to the improvements, but understands that the new infrastructure will take a long time to complete. Watanabe said the drought in Upcountry tends to hit the livestock farmers the hardest, since they use nonirrigated fields.
As for the immediate future, there is a 45 percent chance that precipitation will continue to be below normal here, according to models by state Commission on Water Resource Management.
Rainfall in April, traditionally one of the wettest months, was well below normal in most areas of the county, with the East Maui watershed showing 56 percent of normal rainfall at the West Wailua Iki rain gauge.
Haiku was at 45 percent of normal while Hana was at 49 percent in April.
Totals for May are expected to be similarly low. Preliminary rainfall data from the U.S. Geological Service for West Wailua Iki show less than 6 inches of rain since May 1. Normal rainfall for May would be more than 17 inches.
Board members and an administration spokeswoman also thanked the public for its participation so far, but asked for more help in conserving water.
“It’s been exceptionally dry, and we’re not in a good situation,” said county spokeswoman Mahina Martin. “We know people have taken it seriously, yet we could use more compliance. Five percent may seem small, but we need to do this kokua (help) in coordination with others.”
• Chris Hamilton can be reached at chamilton@mauinews.com.
