By MEGAN MOSELEY

Staff Writer

A proposed resolution making its way through council has ignited more conversations around the future use of Maui County’s recycled water.

Previous legislation and mandates have supported the prioritization of using recycled water on Maui, including Ordinance 5592, which was enacted this year and requires all wastewater to be disinfected by 2039. For years the county has recognized that recycled water usage may be a part of the solution to the island’s controversial injection wells.

However, Resolution 24-161, which revolves around the need to use recycled water, or R-1 water, to conserve potable water for development purposes, has county officials and residents talking again. The resolution was drafted by South Maui councilmember and chair of the committee Tom Cook.

The use of recycled water is already happening on the island and in other parts of the world. States such as Alaska, Ohio and Nebraska use recycled water. California, Colorado and Florida are also exploring utilizing DPR, or direct potable reuse, water that sends treated sewage water to drinking water systems.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, water reuse, also known as water recycling or water reclamation, salvages water from a variety of sources and then treats and reuses it for various purposes ranging from agriculture and irrigation to potable water supplies and groundwater replenishment. Water reuse is said to provide alternatives to existing water supplies and, according to the EPA, can be used to enhance water security, sustainability and resilience.

According to the county, 22% of Maui’s wastewater is currently being recycled and reused for landscape, golf course and agricultural irrigation, fire control and construction dust control. The county also recognizes that by making use of recycled water that comes from treated wastewater, potable water can be conserved.

That appears to be the intention of Resolution 24-161, but some concerns over how it will be used and for whom are surfacing.

During a county council Water and Infrastructure Committee meeting on Oct. 10, representatives from the Department of Water Supply, Department of Environmental Management, personal testifiers and council members discussed the resolution further. The resolution was reviewed Sept. 27 and sent back to the committee for further discussion after some council members and residents spoke out about their concerns regarding language used in the bill.

On Oct. 10, county officials provided their testimony in support of the resolution.

“The Department of Water Supply is strongly in support of this item. And we do think it’s extremely important that we look at recycled water as not something to dispose of, but something to use,” Department of Water Supply Director John Stufflebean said.

“We’re also willing to look at how we can help fund the expansion of the recycled water program,” he added.

Maui County Department of Environmental Management Director Shayne Agawa provided an overview of the county’s plans to use recycled water.

“R-1, reuse, has been a top priority for DEM for years. Just to give you some aspect of how much we’ve invested in this, from 2010 to 2021, the department has expended about $47 million in R-1 and reuse, and from 2022 to 2024, we expended about $69 million, and the updated numbers for the next six fiscal years is $93.5 million invested in R-1 reuse all over Maui County,” he said.

“When you talk about using R-1 for ag and irrigation, you have to think of the balance of R-1 as a resource, so you have to balance R-1 as a resource to offset potable, which we all know everyone is already in short supply, and balancing R-1 for new use,” he said.

“It reinforces that we are kept on track,” he said of the resolution.

“It reinforces the coordination between the departments and the community,” he added.

Josiah Nishita, who heads Maui County’s newly established Office of Recovery, provided testimony during the committee meeting.

“We do want to focus on utilizing R-1 as a resource for our community and not something that’s just to be disposed of,” he said.

“It’s a vital resource for our community in general given our isolated nature of our community, as well as limited resources that are available,” he said.

Michele Lincoln is a West Maui wildfire survivor and provided testimony in support of R-1 water use.

“Since 2014, I have been advocating for this,” she said.

Robin Knox, a lead scientist who has assisted in writing various South Maui Watershed studies and is a respected consultant and speaker on water-related and water science matters, provided testimony as well.

“You need to treat this water before you reuse it. The water is loaded with nitrogen and phosphorus and that is what harms the reef. And whether you put it on the land, or you put it on the injection well, it’s still going to get to the ocean,” she said.

“Make sure that our public services get taken care of first before you have private users. And private users should definitely pay for the infrastructure for them to be able to use it,” she added.

During the meeting, West Maui councilmember Tamara Paltin suggested amending the resolution’s title to include prioritizing potable water for the construction of affordable housing, fire protection, greenbelts and agriculture in the county, and also motioned to include language that would give the county more control of the use of potable water.

At the end of the committee meeting councilmember Keani Rawlins-Fernandez, representing Molokai, suggested prioritizing cultural uses as well, and spoke out about why she was not supportive of adopting the resolution on Oct. 10, regardless of the adopted amendments.

“The administration as a whole is supportive of increasing R-1 use, and the council has always been supportive of the administration by supporting the funding that’s being requested to improve the existing infrastructure,” she said.

“So I don’t understand the need for this resolution,” she added.

The committee voted on the amended resolution with all voting in favor aside from Rawlins-Fernandez. Councilmember Gabe Johnson, representing Lanai, was excused.