Deal reached on Maui water
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
WAILUKU, Maui — Maui County yesterday announced it would be scaling back its long-held plan to develop new water sources in East Maui, a move that would end a decade of litigation with environmental groups and other interests.
A settlement signed by the litigants yesterday allows the county to tap into two wells in Ha'iku that together produce up to 1 million gallons a day, easing pressure on dwindling Central Maui water resources.
"It's a win-win situation for everybody — for the people of the island and the environment," said Sam Vessel, one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
The agreement is pending the endorsement of the national Sierra Club, which is also a plaintiff, but local club officials said there will be no problem. Other plaintiffs include the Coalition to Protect East Maui Water Resources and Hui Alanui O Makena, as well as individual East Maui residents.
Maui County has been under increasing pressure to find new sources of water for thirsty Central and South Maui, where the bulk of the island's development has taken place.
In July, the state Commission on Water Resource Management moved to take over control of the 'Iao Aquifer, Central Maui's main source of water, after pumping hit high levels. Last month the state announced it is also considering taking over the neighboring Waihe'e Aquifer after new data indicated the source may contain much less water than earlier thought.
For more than a decade, the county Board of Water Supply tried to satisfy increasing demand on the 'Iao Aquifer by implementing a $50 million plan to develop 10 wells in East Maui. The wells would have produced an estimated 10 million gallons of drinking water per day, enough to satisfy demand for 20 years.
But conservationists and Native Hawaiians objected from the beginning, going to court first in 1993 to argue that pumping groundwater from the area would interfere with stream flows. Only two wells were constructed, and their use was limited by the court. Another lawsuit, filed in January, challenged the plan's supplemental environmental documents.
The pact announced yesterday will end both lawsuits.
County officials yesterday said the new well water will serve Pa'ia and Spreckelsville, freeing those communities from their dependency on the 'Iao Aquifer.
Mayor Alan Arakawa said the county will continue to pursue environmental studies to determine if it can safely and economically tap into East Maui groundwater to supplement the central area.
But, for the time being, the focus will be on surface water from the West Maui Mountains as the county's main source of new water for Central Maui.
Arakawa said he has been negotiating with Alexander & Baldwin Inc. and Wailuku Agribusiness for rights to tap into millions of gallons of stream water that flow daily. He said he's hoping to take a proposal to the Maui County Council within a month or two.
Wailuku attorney Isaac Hall, who represented the plaintiffs, praised the mayor for finding a solution that eluded previous county officials.
Contact Timothy Hurley at thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 244-4880.
