Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 1, 1 January 1995 — Our Readers Write [ARTICLE]

Our Readers Write

Water waste Only in Hawai'i ean we ask our citizens to eonserve water, and the reaction is immediate cooperation. Even our keiki are careful. Our restaurants serve the liquid gold only on request. However, the agency whieh has the power to protect this public resource, the state Commission on Water Resource Management (COWRM), refused to order the immediate stoppage of the dumping of 1.5 million gallons a day by the Waiāhole Irrigation Company. Why this unconscionable waste? The water should be returned to the Windward side so that our streams ean live again with 'ōpae, 'o'opu and hlhīwai; so that our taro farmers ean increase their crops; so that aquatic industry ean grow; so that the legacy we leave to our keiki is one of lush green and not barren waste. Even the eloquence of UH Professor Jon Van Dyke, (who said) that water is part of the trust responsibility and that there is no legal beneficial public good in such wanton waste, was ignored. Why did COWRM listen to the spurious arguments of the Attorney General instead? Is there a hidden agenda detrimental to the public? Shouldn't we ask for the immediate resignation of this ineffective group? Or should we simply thumb our noses at any conservation efforts in the future? Only in Hawai'i ean such inane decisions occur. Lela M. Hubbard