Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 1, 1 Ianuali 2005 — Wailua Nui: Water to grow kalo on Maui [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Wailua Nui: Water to grow kalo on Maui

E kanu i ka huli 'oi hā'ule ka ua. Plant the taro stalks while there is rain. - 'Ōlelo No'eau In early November, the OHA Board of Trustees held a eommunity meeting with the Hāna, Ke'anae and Wailua Nui families to discuss concerns facing East Maui residents. The most resounding eoncern for residents is the need to bring water back to the streams and waterfalls to whieh they belong. Ms. Fawn Helekahi-Burns talked to trustees about Hāna's rich traditions. "Hāna's resources are being depleted faster than they are being preserved," she stated. "The streams no longer have 'o'opu, 'ōpae, and hīhīwai." Trustees were joined by representatives from the Native Hawaiian Fegal Corporation (NHFC), who are currently assisting Ke'anae and Wailua Nui farmers with a lawsuit that aims at returning diverted water back to five streams in the area.

Ironically, the two-hour drive into Hāna that evening was preceded by a two-day weather system that drenched the coastline with several inches of rain. The streams and waterfalls put on a spectacular display as water eame gushing down every available nook and cranny. If you drove to Hāna on that particular day, you'd never have guessed that those same streams and river beds lay idle most of the year. The eoneem for water is a familiar one to Hawaiian communities across the state. The Waiāhole water case on O'ahu, and the Waiola contested case on Moloka'i are two of the more recognized water cases in recent years. Both decisions extended the public trust protection, affirmed the water rights of Native Hawaiian people and confirmed that the state Water Commission is obligated to ensure that all its actions protect the rights of Native Hawaiians. The same debate over the diversion of water from one

plaee to another has eome to the rural communities of East Maui. Trustees and NHFC staff spent some time with Wailua Nui kalo farmer "Bush" Martin, who showed us his lo'i. He explained that there wasn't enough water to work all of the lo'i on his land because he couldn't maintain a steady flow to certain areas whieh were farther off the 'auwai. "We only borrow the water, we use it for the kalo and then we return it to the stream," he said. Nā Moku Aupuni O Ko'olau Hui has petitioned to amend interim instream How standards where diversions of water are being made through four separate ditch systems. The water originates from the slopes of Haleakalā through one of the richest rainforest ecosystems in the state. An average of 160 million gallons of water per day (mgd), are being diverted from the East Maui streams to central Maui for sugar and other uses. By way of contrast, the average flow of the Waiāhole

Ditch system was 27 mgd. While the Hawai'i Supreme Court ruled that 27 mgd of diversion clearly harmed Windward O'ahu, the operators of this ditch elaim divesting more than six times this amount is not "a significant impact" on Hawaiians or the environment. Nā Moku Aupuni O Ko'olau Hui attests that the diversion constitutes at the very least a need for an environmental assessment. Native Hawaiian water rights and traditional and customary gathering rights are still protected by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the State Constitution and the Hawai'i Revised Statutes. The State Water Code, passed in 1987, granted water rights to Native Hawaiians and called for the protection of ahupua'a and hunting and gathering rights. Maintaining those rights in the face of continued pressure for development is the modern balancing act illustrated by the struggle over water across the state. ■

Colette Machado

Trustee, Moloka'i and Lana'i