Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 12, 1 November 1994 — The wasted Waiāhole ditch water [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

The wasted Waiāhole ditch water

by Kina'u Boyd Kamali'i T rustee-at-Iarge Mālama i ka wai. The words to the song used by the Honolulu Board of Water Supply to promote water conservation eome quickly to mind in our hot, dry summer and early autumn months. In spite of the Board of Water Supply's admonition, up to 18 million gallons of water from the Waiāhole

Ditch are being dumped eaeh day at several locations in Central O'ahu. I view the waste of these resources with the gravest eoneem. Recently, the Honolulu Star Bulletin reported this disgraceful abuse. The flagrant waste of water is particularly distasteful on O ahu where the water demand has increased dramatically as the

supply decreased to disturbing levels. This practice has been going on for the last six months. In spite of numerous requests to the State Commission on Water Resource Management for return of this excess water to the streams of the windward side from whieh it is Uiken, no one has been able to stop this abuse. This flagrant disregard for limited water resources seriously negates eoncerted private and govemmental efforts to portray this windward water as essential for Ieeward agriculture. After all. it is difficult to justify such a dire need for water if 18 million gaJlons per day ean be dumped. The most troublesome part of the whole affair is the Waiāhole Irrigation Co.'s justification of the waste. The company asserts that the dumped water "...helps recharge the Pearl Harbor aquifer that is the water source for the larger metropolitan areas." But a closer look at how our aquifer system works mtikes this statement ridiculous. The aquifer for the leeward plain lies under the lands at Waikele. Waiāhole Irrigation Co. dumps the water in at least eight sites. Almost half of these sites are below the recharge areas for the aquifer. Those waters dumped below the recharge

areas make their way directly to the oeean without recharging the aquifer. More importantly. this waste reveals a mueh deeper problem. First, there is a serious technical mismanagement of water by the Waiāhole Irrigation Co. Second. there is an equally serious inability of the current water management system, to effectivelv monitor misuse. and to enforce regulations for mismanagement.

I urge the Commission on Water Resource Management to lake two key steps to solve the Waiāhole Ditch water issue onee and for all. In the short term, immediately return the excess water to windward streams. The key reason is water use efficiency. Water is a limited resource. lt must be fullv and efficiently used. The State of Hawai'i cannot afford to continue the practice of dumping water while it waits to find new uses or projects to take up the surplus. In the long term, keep all the Waiāhole ditch

water in windward O'ahu. There is enough water resource in leeward O'ahu to sustain present and future needs without resorting to "outside" sources. The State Water Resource Management Commission musi develop a comprehensive management plan for these resources Without such provision, there will always be a temptation to revisit the Waiāhole ditch water system again and again. OHA must be genuinely committed to both the principle of safeguarding inherent native Hawaiian water rights and the practice of asserting those rights for its beneficiaries. To that end, OHA is developing a comprehensive program whieh includes computerized capabilities, up-to-date technology. and loeal expertise on water resources management. Wiih these resources OHA will be able to effectively address water issues from a position of accurate information and appropriate expertise. We will protect our water resources. because the alternative - the waste of our water resources - is disgraceful. We cannot allow our limited resources to be devastated by callous disregard of native Hawaiian rights and the future of our community.