Though I greatly appreciated Chris Hamilton’s article (The Maui News, May 22) on the Board of Water Supply monthly meeting, I felt that as a community we needed to go more deeply into the issues only beginning to be addressed by the County of Maui.
As has been pointed out by The Maui News for about two years now, the Board of Water Supply is “advisory,” and though we hear appeals and can override the director, our function has been more one of counsel and concern. Fortunately, our chair, Lee Aldridge, is a civil engineer and understands with great acumen the workings of diverse water supply systems. The other members of the board hail from diverse backgrounds, but all share tremendous passion to help better our existing systems.
The board expressed real concern that simply calling a “drought” and helping impose water restrictions in the Upcountry systems does nothing to actually help alleviate the seasonal probability of not enough water in our systems. We forcefully asked that we be shown what efforts the department is making to mitigate these conditions, and have made it clear to the department that we will not support further restrictions without a clear sense that the department is making a bona fide effort to address these needs.
Aldridge has pointed out numerous times that most people will pay more for water, if indeed the costs simply of delivery/”pumping up” so dictate. We presently charge agricultural users only what the cost of delivery of their water is, and as board policy exempt these users from mandatory cutbacks.
There are several steps that could be taken immediately that would help the Upcountry water system. The first, and probably most effective, would be to redesign and rebuild the intakes at Waikamoi. The flume system which feeds the Waikamoi intake is in constant disrepair and needs both redesign and rebuilding (with stronger and more permanent materials). The two Waikamoi reservoirs are substantially filled with soil and silt and their linings are so minimal as to be nearly useless.
At present, under the Memorandum of Understanding with HC&S, the intake system is taken care of by East Maui Irrigation, which also maintains the Piiholo intakes to the treatment plant and reservoir. For this, EMI receives (in water credits) $15,000 per month. Given the condition of the flume system, actual participation seems minimal. As EMI receives no water from either of these systems, their concern may not be great.
I don’t understand why the county doesn’t take over maintenance of these intakes. The water credits themselves would go a long way toward the hiring of personnel to assume these duties.
Another concern would be the arbitrary decision to award water allocation of 120,000 gallons per day in the Upper and Lower Kula systems, to Maui Land and Pineapple Co. in return for their digging the Piiholo well, which will not be putting additional water directly into these systems. Indeed, in internal documents of the department, concern is expressed continually by the Engineering Division that assigning this substantial amount of water — without improvements in source to these systems — is not warranted given the scarcity of water presently in these systems, especially as much of the water is reserved, as the priority under the State Water Code, for use of the owners of lots in the Waiohuli and Keokea Hawaiian Homes homesteads. Also, for those on the priority list it must be painful to see this much water allocated to ML&P when they cannot get access to water for their kuleanas/homes.
According to an abbreviated report given at the board meeting by the head of the Water Resources Division, Ellen Kraftsow, we are basically water short throughout the county. This is especially true of the Central and West Maui sources and will require immediate and concerted action by the administration.
• Michael Howden is a member of the Board of Water Supply. He is a permaculture designer and lives in Kula.
