Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 23, Number 8, 1 August 2006 — Maui moves to restore diverted stream water [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maui moves to restore diverted stream water

County sets aside tunds tor possible purchase of watershed lands

By Sterling Kini Weng Publicatiūns Editur In lune, the Maui Council set aside $7.2 million for the appraisal and possible acquisition of roughly 13,000 acres of watershed land in Central Maui, where county lawmakers plan to restore water to area streams to ensure that there is enough water to support domestic uses, native stream life and traditional Hawaiian practices. The appropriation, whieh was included in the councirs new budget, would allow the county to acquire, by condemnation if necessary, portions of the een-tury-old plantation irrigation ditch system and related lands owned by Wailuku Water Company, formerly Wailuku Agribusiness. The goal is to restore water to three of the four famed streams of Central Maui, traditionally called Nā Wai 'Ehā, or the Four Great Waters. The councirs budget appropriation was the next step in a plan to help resolve what some are calling Maui's "watercrisis." In December 2005, Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa

agreed to work towards acquiring the ditch system to restore water to the streams of 'īao, Waihe'e and Waiehu. In return, OHA and two Maui groups withdrew their legal challenges against the eounty's permit applications for water from 'īao Aquifer, Maui's primary source of drinking water. OHA Chair Haunani Apoliona said that the county's budget allocation will help to heal "environmental and cultural wounds" suffered from over a century of devastating stream diversions. "When water was diverted from streams and lo'i kalo for sugar beginning in the 1850s, eeonomie growth eame at the expense of Native Hawaiian eulture and practices and the ecosystems of Central Maui, on whieh all residents depend," she said. "By working together with us, the eouneil and mayor have taken a progressive step to reshape Maui's future. Now our culture, our streams and oeean, and our economy ean thrive for the benefit of all." On a nonnal day, long stretch-

es of Nā Wai 'Ehā streams are left dry, as water is diverted into the extensive ditch system. The shortage of water hinders the ability of farmers to grow kalo and has a disastrous impact on native stream life, such as o'opu (gobies), hlhlwai (limpet) and 'ōpae (crustaceans). Moreover, environmentalists question why half of the 60 million gallons of water produced by Nā Wai 'Ehā streams per day still continues to be diverted when the sugar industry has been dramatically scaled back on Maui. The current dispute started in 2003, when the state water eommission took control of the 'īao Aquifer because it said the county was mismanaging it. As a result,

the county and all other users were required to apply for permits with the state for water from the aquifer, and OHA and the two Maui groups subsequently ehallenged the county's applications. In November, Arakawa sent a letter to Avery Chumbley, president of Wailuku Agribusiness, requesting that the company voluntarily restore water to the 'Iao and Waihe'e streams so that they flow continuously from mauka to makai, whieh is crucial for the survival of the native aquatic life in the streams. Chumbly, now president of the Wailuku Water Company, declined to comment for this story. Meanwhile, efforts are under

way to establish the state's guidelines for the minimum amount of water that would have to run in Nā Wai 'Ehā streams to support domestic uses, native stream life and Hawaiian practices. OHA, Maui County, Hawai'i Commercial & Sugar Company, Wailuku Water Company and the environmental law firm Earthjustice are currently involved in a contested case hearing to work out those "instream flow standards." If the eouneil does acquire Wailuku Water Company's watershed and ditch systems, it would have to restore water to the streams in accordance with the instream flow standards, onee they are adopted. S

MĀLAMA 'ĀINA • CARING FDR ĪHE LAND

John and Rose Marie Duey are kalo farmers in 'īao Valley who are affected by the massive water diversions from Central Maui streams. - Photo: Sterling Kini Wong