At the contested case hearing over diversions from Na Wai Eha on Tuesday and Wednesday, the status of Well 7 came to center stage, The Maui News reported.

The harvest of water from Na Wai Eha – Waihee, Waiehu, Iao and Waikapu streams – is on the order of 50 million to 60 million gallons per day. Well 7 tapping the brackish lens on the edge of the Iao aquifer can produce more than 40 mgd all by itself.

The petitioners to the state Commission on Water Resource Management, who are seeking to have water restored to the streams, want to find other sources of water, which could be used by the major consumers – farmers – even if they might be more expensive.

Well 7 is one of 16 deep wells drilled by Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co.'s predecessors in the central isthmus of Maui as far back as the 19th century. It is the only one that can pump to fields that also draw on Na Wai Eha waters. About 8,800 out of 35,000 acres are involved.

HC&S Senior Vice President Rick Volner Jr. was cross-examined by Office of Hawaiian Affairs attorney Pamela Bunn about how the plantation uses the water.

He explained that there are three pumps at Well 7 – two (A and B) deep underground, which can pump about 17 mgd each. That water can reach only about a tenth of the 8,800 acres. (It also can be sent to the Puunene Mill, which consumes a lot of water in washing cane.)

A third pump ("Charley") can move 14 mgd up to the HC&S Waiale Reservoir. From there, the water can flow by gravity or be pumped to many fields.

Under direct examination by HC&S attorney David Schulmeister, Volner explained why the area is so important to the plantation overall. More than 90 percent of seed cane is grown in this area.

Among the reasons, Volner said, are that the land is sandy and comparatively level. This allows equipment to enter the fields soon after a rain. The seed cane is cut as needed for replanting. The plantation cannot store it.

The 1,625 acres used for seed are also comparatively free of rocks, which is important for the rubber-tired equipment used by the cane cutters that can avoid damaging the seed cane stalks.

By comparison, he said harvesting cane for the mill is a "brutal" operation handled by heavier bulldozers.

Reliable supplies of water are crucial. East Maui Irrigation Co. Manager Garret Hew testified Tuesday that "HC&S is always a water-short company." Volner testified that deciding which fields get water in short periods is the first thing he does each day as manager of agricultural operations.

Newly planted fields are a top priority, and seed cane fields also rank high.

Hew, who is also manager of the Paia farm (one of four on the plantation) said, "We move it around, so that everybody has a cup of water rather than somebody getting the whole quart."

The water from Well 7 is brackish, which lowers yields when compared to cane grown on pure mountain water.

It is also full of sediments. Even after passing through sand filters, it sometimes clogs drip irrigators, Volner said. Sometimes Na Wai Eha water is used to flush out silty lines.

Bunn later moved on to quiz Volner about whether HC&S is a good steward of Na Wai Eha water.

Reports submitted to the water commission for recent years showed that Waiale Reservoir received about 12.5 billion gallons a year. Other reports showed HC&S used about 9 billion gallons to irrigate cane.

Bunn suggested that worked out to system losses or waste of about 9 mgd.

Volner said some Waiale water went to other users (like Monsanto), but he granted that the reservoir can lose 6 mgd to 8 mgd to seepage. Leaks from ditches and pipes might amount to 3 mgd to 4 mgd.

"When did you personally become aware that 9 million gallons a day was being lost to seepage?" Bunn asked.

"The day I took over Maalaea farm," said Volner.

Volner, 33, who was born and raised on Maui (Baldwin High School Class of 1992) joined HC&S after graduating from the University of Hawaii with a degree in mechanical engineering.

His first job was to design and build wastewater reclamation systems to make better use of mill wash water. (The pivot irrigation structures visible at Hana Highway and Hansen Road are a result of that.) He was made manager of the Maalaea farm in 2004. Today he supervises all four farms.

Bunn asked him what HC&S had done to reduce system losses at the reservoir.

Volner said he keeps the reservoir level as low as possible, although that can cause operational problems with silt in the irrigation water.

Bunn asked if HC&S had considered lining the reservoirs or ditches.

Volner said no, although most of the ditches in the Na Wai Eha area are already shot-creted. He said a polyethylene or concrete lining would reduce seepage losses at Waiale Reservoir, although he did not think they would be eliminated.

The hearings were scheduled to resume today at Maui Economic Opportunity's Family Center.

The petition, initiated by Hui O Na Wai Eha and the Maui Tomorrow Foundation, seeks to force the commission to establish permanent instream flow standards as required by the State Water Code.

It has since been joined by OHA, and the County of Maui is an intervener in the contested case.

There is a parallel commission docket to allocate groundwater in the Iao and Waihee aquifers.

NA WAI EHA HEARINGS

The contested case on the petition to set instream flow standards for Na Wai Eha is scheduled to continue today, and on Feb. 14, 15, 20, 21 and 22, beginning at 9 a.m. daily. The hearing today is at the Maui Economic Opportunity Family Center in Wailuku. Other sessions are tentatively scheduled for Maui Community College Laulima Room 107.