Maui County Council passes bills to ease water use
On Friday, Maui County Council passed a couple of bills designed to ease farmers and residents receiving approval for additional water use.
County Bills 146 and 180 will now go to Mayor Richard Bissen for review. If it becomes law, Bill 146, scheduled to take effect on Jan. 1, 2026, could allow existing water customers to have a farm or ohana dwelling without obtaining an additional water meter, said Sydney Smith, chair of the ag working group established to advise County Council and administration on agriculture.
“This is a big step forward for our community,” Smith said.
“I expect quite a few people will withdraw from the Upcountry water meter list since many just needed a slightly larger meter for their ohana or for irrigation.”
Council member Gabe Johnson, who authored the two bills, said the new method in Bill 146 requires the water department to determine if there is a sufficient domestic water supply in respective areas.
“I think they’re fantastic changes. I wish they could happen immediately,” Johnson said.
Johnson said the delay in implementing Bill 146 is to give the county administration time to reformulate the water calculation method.
Johnson said the previous standard often required an additional permit for an ohana or farm dwelling, based on the number of water fixtures on the property.
He said the bill would apply to those seeking to build farm labor dwellings and residential ohana dwellings.
Johnson said the water department supported the changes in qualifying for additional water use.
The bill requires the water department to establish the maximum capacity of domestic water usage, excluding agricultural water.
Bill 180 allows farmers to expand the storage capacity of their private water catchment and storage tank system from 15,000 to 30,000 gallons in agricultural, residential and rural districts.
The bill takes effect once it becomes an ordinance.
No permit is required as long as the owner does not put down a concrete slab, Johnson said.
The bill says the county will not be responsible for monitoring the safety or quality of the water in the private water catchment system.
Johnson said having a catchment storage system gives the property owner the ability to do so many things, including watering the lawn.