Submitted as evidence in a lawsuit against Maui Land & Pineapple, the photo on the left shows cracks in the liner visible from the banks of the reservoir. The photo on the right shows pieces of the liner that have detached from the bottom and floated to the surface due to alleged negligence in maintaining a crucial ditch system. Courtesy photos

A lawsuit filed Aug. 18 alleges that Maui Land & Pineapple Co., one of Hawaii’s biggest land developers, has been negligent in maintaining its Honokōhau ditch system, which supplies water to West Maui.

Maui Land & Pineapple, a former plantation company turned real estate developer, owns the Honokōhau Ditch System that provides essential water to residents, farmers and businesses in Kapalua and West Maui.

Maui Land & Pineapple owns the Honokōhau Ditch System but has not maintained it, according to the lawsuit. The suit cites U.S. Geological Survey data showing the Pu’U Kukui Watershed receives 225 inches of rain per year — more than Seattle and Portland — but says the water coming in is not reaching West Maui residents because of the land company’s negligence over the past decade.

According to the lawsuit, the malfeasance and inaction of Maui Land & Pineapple are contributing to a lack of water in West Maui. Todashi Yanai, the president of TY Management, and one of the richest men in Japan is among the plaintiffs. According to Business Insider, Yanai is worth an estimated $31.9 billion.

He owns Kapalua Plantation and Kapalua Bay golf courses, which were acquired from Maui Land and reportedly had contracts through which the company provided irrigation water to the courses. However, the suit alleges that has not happened. The system also supplies water to the Kapalua Golf course.

Kapalua Bay Course is shown on Dec. 19, 2024, (top) and Aug. 12, 2025, illustrating the impact of insufficient water supply, according to a lawsuit against Maui Land & Pineapple. Courtesy photos

“MLP is doing a terrible, actionable job of complying with its responsibilities as the ditch system’s owner and operator,” the complaint states. “This must stop; water users cannot bear MLP’s incompetence any longer. MLP has knowingly, and in violation of its promises and obligations to plaintiffs, allowed the ditch system to fall into a state of demonstrable disrepair. That disrepair, not any act of God, or force of nature, or other thing, is why users who need it are currently without water.”

Maui Land & Pineapple’s CEO Race Randle said in a statement that the suit appears to be part of the plaintiffs’ continuing efforts to obtain irrigation water “when West Maui is experiencing a historic drought.”

“We are following the clear guidance from the Commission on Water Resources Management to prioritize streamflow and traditional and customary uses, followed by delivery to the County of Maui to provide drinking water for Lahaina. We will continue to follow (the commission’s) guidance,” Randle said.

The suit filed in Hawaii Circuit Court on Maui asks the court to require the land giant to honor its agreements and “undertake all commercially reasonable steps necessary to inspect, repair and maintain the ditch system in a condition adequate for the reliable delivery of water.”

According to information from Kapalua Water, “the Honokōhau Ditch System, on which residents, farmers and businesses in Kapalua and parts of West Maui all depend, is owned by an often-struggling, once-nearly-bankrupt, former plantation company with a history of environmental violations and problems — Maui Land & Pineapple. Water is being wasted.”

According to the complaint, “plaintiffs bring this case against MLP because MLP has abused the trust of residents, farmers, and businesses in Kapalua and parts of West Maui, all of whom are now being starved for irrigation water by MLP.”