WAILUKU - Testing of Maui Land & Pineapple's Piiholo Well produced a yield of 1.2 million gallons of water per day, but failed to show the well could sustain pumping at that rate, said county Water Director Jeff Eng.
The county is at odds with ML&P over a 2006 agreement that called for Maui Pine to develop the well, then turn it over to the county, which would receive a portion of the water it produced. Eng has said the well is not producing enough water for the deal to go forward, while ML&P officials disagree.
Eng said Wednesday that ML&P had tested the well by pumping 1.2 million gallons per day (mgd) for several days, but the well failed to "stabilize" at that rate.
That means the water level in the well continued to drop throughout the test, and never hit a point at which it leveled off and did not go any lower.
The county used the results of that test to make its own estimates for what the well's actual yield would be, and the county's estimates are much lower than 1.2 mgd, Eng said.
"I would have approved it at 1.2 million," he said.
ML&P officials have said they disagree with the county on yield estimates.
The 2006 agreement between Maui Pine and the county projected the Piiholo Well could produce 1.5 mgd to 2 mgd. It also specified that tests on a pilot hole would have to show a capacity of at least 1 mgd in order for the drilling of the well to proceed.
Eng said Maui Pine could do more testing on the well or seek approval from the state to dig it deeper in the hopes of increasing its productivity, although either of those steps would mean more costs for the already cash-strapped company.
ML&P has not installed a permanent pump that would make the well operational and it allowed a pump installation permit to lapse in June without seeking an extension, according to the state Commission on Water Resource Management.
According to reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, ML&P agreed to develop the well in connection with a 2005 sale of land Upcountry. Under the deal, the buyer would withhold $1.9 million from the purchase price until Maui Pine delivered the promised water.
ML&P reported spending $2.5 million on drilling the well in 2008.
The company ended last year with a loss of more than $70 million.
* Ilima Loomis can be reached at iloomis@mauinews. com.
