One of the streams in East Maui that provides irrigation water for kalo farmers and for larger entities like Mahi Pono is shown here. Photo courtesy Department of Land and Natural Resources

Just how much water is enough is a question a local advocacy group is raising concerning the practices of Mahi Pono, an agricultural giant on Maui.

Nā Moku ʻAupuni ʻo Koʻolau Hui, a group of East Maui kalo farmers and residents, were denied a contested case hearing on July 12 by the Board of Land and Natural Resources.

According to Maui Sierra Club chair Lucienne De Naie, Mahi Pono was seeking land board approval to continue their yearly permits that allow diversion of around 30 million gallons per day from public lands in East Maui, ignoring concerns of environmental groups and east Maui residents and farmers that the stream levels have dropped dramatically.

Local farmers and environmental activists say Mahi Pono needs to cut water losses and be more transparent about its water usage. They say Mahi Pono is only paying about $283,000 a year for more than 9 billion gallons of water diverted from state lands in East Maui.

“It’s disappointing,” De Naie said of the ruling, which was 5-2 against the residents seeking a contested case hearing on Mahi Pono’s water uses and practices.

“The land board has the obligation to protect traditional and customary rights and the authority, as the steward of our lands, to help use state regulations to protect our natural resources and the rights of native Hawaiians,” De Naie said.

Both the Sierra Club and the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation have been pursuing more transparency for several years and advocating on behalf of the East Maui residents and farmers.

Ashley Obrey of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation said there would be another hearing in August to continue oral arguments on this issue.

“Mahi Pono’s diversions are limited to the water amounts necessary for farming, and the water amounts that are required for the county’s municipal and agricultural customers in Upcountry, Maui,” said Grant Nakama, Mahi Pono’s senior vice president of business operations.

“Mahi Pono makes every reasonable effort to focus on water efficiency on-farm, and our commitment to responsible water use has allowed Mahi Pono to meet, and exceed, the stringent water efficiency standards mandated by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources,” he continued.

“Mahi Pono’s total investments to access irrigation water — consisting of annual permit fees paid to the state, utility costs to access groundwater and the full cost of operating and maintaining the East Maui Irrigation System — are significant and are directly correlated to our commitment to fostering agriculture in Central Maui.”

Mahi Pono purchased 41,000 acres of land from Alexander & Baldwin in late 2018 for an estimated $262 million, according to Hawaii News Now and other sources.

The agreement stipulated the land be used only for agricultural purposes and not for development or speculation.

Originally, Mahi Pono had a revocable permit to use water based largely on an honor system meaning the company’s usage went unchecked, according to de Naie.

Mahi Pono now has an annual revocable permit for water determined by acreage planted approved by a staff report of the land board of the Department of Land and Natural Resources in December 2024.

On June 24, Mahi Pono became the sole owner of the East Maui Irrigation company, a system of water diversion dikes, ditches and tunnels that moves surface water from East Maui streams to the former sugar lands owned by Mahi Pono. Until that point Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono had 50-50 ownership.

Mahi Pono is a farming venture between Pomona Farming LLC, a California-based agricultural group, and the Public Sector Pension Investment Board, a long-term investor and one of Canada’s largest pension investment managers. It is a subsidiary of the private equity firm Trinitas.

Ryan Paton, president of Pomona Farming LLC and executive chairman of Mahi Pono, did not return calls requesting comment.