Kyle T. Yamashita (D)

Age: 58

Birthplace: Honolulu

Residence: Makawao

Occupation: State representative since 2005

Community service: Boy Scouts of America Annual Council Dinner, committee member, 2009 to 2016; Eagle Scout Annual Recognition Dinner, committee member, 2009 to present; Boy Scouts of America merit badge counselor, 2007 to present

Family: Married, two adult children

QUESTION: District needs — What do you see as the greatest needs of your district? What would you do to address them?

ANSWER: “Access to water is an issue for the residents of Upcountry Maui. We not only have to be ready for drought conditions, but also flash flooding. Many families are still on the county waiting list for a water meter.

“In order to address this issue, I obtained $3.5 million for a test well on Haleakala Ranch. If this test well is successful, we can build pumping infrastructure to increase water supply for local residents.

“In the past, I explored the option of building a 300 million-gallon reservoir with federal and county partners. Without federal funds, however, the project was not economically possible. Ultimately, we learned that building wells and pumping water is more cost effective than a reservoir and transmission infrastructure.

“I am also exploring ways to store water when it flashes (storms) so that the runoff is captured before entering our streams and ocean. I will continue to seek funding to build a well and transmission system that can pump water to Upcountry.”

QUESTION: Cesspools — The state has identified Upcountry Maui as having one of the worst problems with cesspools possibly contaminating the island’s drinking water supply.

Yet, the cost of replacing cesspools is prohibitive and often an engineering challenge. What do you think should be done to help residents facing this issue?

ANSWER: “After listening to community residents and meeting with the Department of Health, I felt that the initial findings of DOH were incomplete at best. Their information did not consider physical and financial barriers to cesspool conversion and only offered a ‘one-size-fits-all’ solution.

“As a result, I pushed for legislation to require DOH to form a working group that would reassess the earlier findings with a third party (University of Hawaii) for a comprehensive statewide study of sewage contamination in nearshore marine areas. “The working group will also: identify physical, practical and financial impediments to connect pre-existing cesspools to a sewer system or convert cesspools to an individual waste treatment system and recommend solutions to overcome these impediments; examine financing issues and suggest how to fund cesspool conversions; consider alternative wastewater equipment and technologies that may better protect the environment at lower costs; submit reports of its findings and recommendations, including proposed legislation to the Legislature, no later than December 2019 and 2020.

“The information gathered by the working group will help us hold the Department of Health accountable and ensure that they have accurate and complete data needed to arrive at the right conclusions.”