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Facing increasing water demands, Maui County water officials are holding meetings in West and South Maui to look at converting brackish water and saltwater into drinking water.
The meetings on desalination will be Aug. 5 at the Kihei Community Center and Aug. 13 at the Lahaina Civic Center Social Hall. Both meetings are expected to run from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Department of Water Supply director John Stufflebean said the meetings are an opportunity to bring the community together to share information and create an open dialogue about Maui's future water needs.
"We value the community's input and look forward to listening, answering questions, and gathering feedback as we continue evaluating options to support reliable and resilient water supply for South and West Maui," he said.
Water demands projected
Based on a 2015 study looking at the next three years, the peak demand for water in West Maui exceeds the system's reliable supply by 41.8%.
Historically, South Maui lacks sufficient fresh ground water with its Kamaole Aquifer System's 11 million gallons a day pushing past 90% of its capacity.
Kihei, Wailea and Makena heavily rely on water from Central and Wailuku aquifers transmitted by a public-private joint venture developed in the 1970s.
Kihei Community Association President John Laney said he's had conversations with Stufflebean and discussed desalination as an alternative.
"We hear that Israel gets like 80% of its water supply from desalination plants, so it's a huge thing around parts of the world," he said. "The technology is supposed to be getting better, so I think it's going to be part of our future. Hopefully, this is going to work."
He said major issues that need to be addressed are how to deal with the waste that comes from desalination and the cost of desalination, including the potential use of solar power.
"Too much brine can hurt the reefs and the fish, so I have to see what it does to the levels of sale in the water to see if it's going to work or need a different way of disposing of it," Laney said.
Study identifies possible locations
The study said there are locations suitable for converting brackish and saltwater into potable water and recommends deep-well injection to dispose of the wastewater.
The study said desalination of brackish water requires less energy, and solar power is recommended as the main power source for the conversion of brackish water and saltwater.
The study also recognizes state and federal agencies as potential sources of funding, including the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, the state of Hawaii Revolving Fund and congressionally directed authorization and appropriations.
It said the average time from funding approval to commissioning the desalination facility is over nine years.
According to the study, sites were identified in South Maui as favorable for new destination facilities, including two brackish water sources at Kamaole in Kihei and and a third brackish water source in Wailea.
In West Maui, sites included two deep salt water sources in Honokowai and two brackish or saltwater sources at Honolua in Kapalua.
The study said the injection wells for the brine waste must comply with Underground Injection Control rules, including establishing sites away from drinking water sources.
According to the study, brine injection wells may require a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permit if considered functionally equivalent to direct ocean discharge.