Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2005 — NĀ WAI ʻEHĀ [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NĀ WAI ʻEHĀ

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By Sterling Kini Wong It is said that in ancient Hawai'i, having access to an abundance of water was an indication of wealth. If this is true, then Central Maui must have been the envy of its neighbors because of the considerable amount of water flowing in the streams of Waikapū, Waiehu, Wailuku (also known as 'īao) and Waihe'e. These streams, collectively known as Nā Wai 'Ehā, or the Four Great Waters, onee fed what has been called the largest eontinuous area of wetland taro cultivation in Hawai'i. Unfortunately, these streams, immortalized in both story and song, no longer contribute to the prosperity of the area as they onee did. A series of century-old plantation water diversions have left stretches of the stream beds parched, cutting off the migratory path of the stream's native aquatic species and hindering the ability of Hawaiians to grow their traditional staple food, taro. 'īao stream, in fact, is so thoroughly diverted today that John and Rose Marie Duey may be the only family in the valley growing wetland taro with water taken from the stream. They are currently cultivating two lo'i on their 18-acre property and said they would like to open up more but there may not be enough water. John Duey said that several years ago he felt compelled to do something. "To see the river dry like that seems like kind of a sin," he said. The Dueys joined forces with other eommunity members, and in June 2004 their group, called Hui o Nā Wai 'Ehā, along with the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, petitioned the state water commission to restore water to the streams of Nā Wai 'Ehā to protect the area's stream life and Native Hawaiian traditional practices. One year later, the commission still has not acted on their petitions. The groups also filed a complaint with the commission in October 2004, claiming that Wailuku Agribusiness and Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. were illegally wasting water

diverted from the Central Maui streams. In the complaint, the groups said that millions of gallons of unused water was being lost because of poorly maintained ditch systems and overflowing reservoirs - an indication that the plantation companies were extracting more water than they were using. The groups' complaint also raises another issue facing Maui: with plantations cutting back their sugar acreage, wouldn't they also reduce the amount of water they are taking? The complaint states, for example, that from the 1920s to the 1970s, Wailuku Agribusiness irrigated roughly 2,445 acres of sugar with water diverted from Nā Wai 'Ehā streams. However, the company reported in 2004 that less than half of that acreage, about 1,081 acres, was still being used for sugar. The company has also eonverted some of its lands to cultivate maeadamia nuts and pineapple, both of whieh require significantly less water than sugar, and is transitioning some its lands to urban development, according to the complaint. Avery Chumbley, president of Wailuku Agribusiness, and Garrett Hew, a spokesperson for Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar

Co., both declined to comment because of their companies' involvement in the water commission's ongoing investigation into the waste complaint. Chumbley did say, however, that the groups' elaim that Wailuku Agribusiness was wasting water is "not accurate." The efforts to return water to the streams ofNāWai 'Ehācomes asMauifaces apossible water crisis. The county Department of Water, anticipating below-average rainfall for this summer, requested that Maui residents voluntarily conserve water. In 2003, the state took over management of the 'īao aquifer from the county because the ground water was being threatened due to over pumping. The state may also take control of the Waihe'e aquifer for similar reasons. Protecting these two aquifers is especially important because together they represent the principal source of drinking water for the most populated areas of the Valley Isle: Central and South Maui, and Pā'ia. With urban development booming on Maui - and with mueh of it directed towards the super wealthy - Earthjustice See NĀ WAI 'EHĀ on page 22

Top: John and Rose Marie Duey may be the only family with lo'i irrigated by water from 'iao stream. Above: Earthjustice attomeys Kapua Sproat and lsaac Moriwake, and OHA le.ad advocate Jonathan Scheuer (middle) relax for a minute in the bone-dry river bed of 'lao stream. Sidebar: Kalo farmer Ed Wendt, of Nō Moku Aupuni o Ko'olau Hui, looks at what little water flows in one East Maui stream . photo; Khj Wo

Nā Wai 'Ehā Continued from page 1 1

attomey Kapua Sproat said that the county has serious lifestyle issues that it must examine when determining how the island's water resources should be managed. "Maui is at a crossroads," said Sproat, who represents Hui o Nā Wai 'Ehā and Maui Tomorrow Foundation. "Is there going to be water in the streams for lo'i; water in the streams so people ean go swimming? Or is it going to be put in a pipe for the luxury homes and golf courses in South Maui? The ehoiee is between a rich, transient part-time community and, to me, real loeal lifestyles and values." That ehoiee may also include Central Maui's native stream life, whieh has been significantly affected by the diversions. Skippy Hau, a state aquatic biologist, said that while Maui still has sizable populations of 'o'opu (various native freshwater fishes), 'ōpae (crustaceans) and hīhīwai (limpet), those numbers will continue to drop if the streams don't flow eontinuously to the oeean. Hawai'i's stream species generally hatch as larvae upstream and migrate to the oeean where they stay until they reach their juvenile stage. They then travel back upstream to spawn. Hau and other community members have been catching the various stream species near the mouth of 'īao stream and releasing them above the ditch intakes to restock the stream's native populations. The Dueys have also been helping with this effort. Rose Marie said that while being able to grow taro is important, they also want to protect the native stream life. "If I need to buy my poi," she said, "I would go buy it. If I had to choose between the stream life and taro patches, I would say it's important to keep the streamlife alive. But as a Hawaiian, I want water for both." O