State seeks drought relief aid
By Lynda Arakawa
Advertiser Capitol Bureau
Gov. Linda Lingle has issued a proclamation of a statewide drought and is asking the federal government to help alleviate losses and damage caused by drought conditions.
Lingle yesterday said farmers who have suffered will be able to apply for low-interest loans to offset their losses.
"The Neighbor Islands especially have been hurting for a long time," she said. "By making a drought declaration, it allows us to seek federal funds."
State drought coordinator Neal Fujii said the state will request $170,000 in federal aid for those who have been hurt by the drought. Fujii said Hawai'i will be competing with other Western states for drought assistance. He expects the state to be notified by the end of September about what amount of aid is forthcoming.
Federal assistance would go toward various initiatives, including installing an emergency pump for Ka'ala Ranch in
Waialua, an emergency portable reel irrigation unit, water storage tanks, assistance for the Moloka'i irrigation, buying diesel fuel to run emergency generators to pump Upcountry Maui wells and an emergency water conveyance for an endangered plant nursery on O'ahu's north shore, Fujii said.
Hawai'i has been in a drought for nearly five years, and county water officials on the Big Island, Maui and in Honolulu have issued water conservation notices. Fujii said there is also a 20 percent water restriction on Moloka'i and Waimanalo irrigation systems customers.
Fujii said rainfall in certain areas of the state, particularly on O'ahu and the Big Island, is 30 percent to 60 percent of normal levels for the first seven months of the year. He also said the U.S. Drought Monitor classified West Hawai'i and West Moloka'i as severe drought areas and O'ahu as a moderate drought area.
"Even though we have occasional rainfall and in certain areas the rainfall seems OK, there are areas that are pretty dry," Fujii said.
The cattle industry has suffered about $2.6 million in drought-related losses statewide in the fiscal year that ended June 30, according to state preliminary estimates.
Sumner Erdman, president of 'Ulupalakua Ranch in Upcountry Maui, said his ranch received barely 1 inch of rain between May and August. He said drought conditions have dried up feed for his cattle and, as a result, he has had to sell hundreds of heifers that he had hoped would restock his herds.
"We're tightening our belts, hoping we have some rain in September," Erdman said.
"If we don't get some rain in another 30 days we're going to have to depopulate some more."
Tree crop farmers and ranchers on the Big Island have also been affected by low rainfall, said Virginia Easton Smith, county extension agent with University of Hawai'i College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.
She said coffee farmers are noticing a large number of "floaters," or hollow beans, caused by dry weather.
"We usually get summer rain in Kona, and we can almost always count on rain in June, and June was dry," Smith said. "I heard a couple of people say they've never seen it this dry."
Former Gov. Ben Cayetano issued a similar drought proclamation in July 2000, Fujii said. The state received about $210,000 in federal assistance the next year.
Advertiser Staff Writer Vicki Viotti contributed to this report.
Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com or at 525-8070.
