1913-1916: Waiahole Water Co., Ltd., constructs the Waiahole Ditch. The cross -Ko`olau tunnel alone is 2.76 miles long. Drilling of “developmental tunnels” to feed into the system did not cease until 1963. By the 1990s, the ditch was delivering about … Continued
Supreme Court Throws Waiahole Dispute Back to Water Commission The Hawai`i Supreme Court had little good to say about the decision of the state Commission on Water Resource Management in the Waiahole ditch contested case. When the court completed its … Continued
Republican Maui Mayor Linda Lingle has made no secret of her intention to run for governor. However, to most Hawai`i residents outside Maui County, Lingle’s record on many issues remains a mystery. Environment Hawai`i in this issue reviews Lingle’s record … Continued
It will be at least another six months, and probably much longer than that, before the twin falls at the back of Waipi`o Valley are both running. The state Commission on Water Resource Management has voted to give Bishop Estate … Continued
Much ink has been spilled over the results of the 1998 Hawai`i Legislature. Several leading environmentalists, including David Frankel, executive director of the Hawai`i Chapter of the Sierra Club, have described it as the worst on record. Here, we take … Continued
The term of the first water license granted to Alexander and Baldwin was 20 years. Now, more than a century after that first license expired in 1896, A&B and its subsidiary, East Maui Irrigation Company, Ltd., take water from the … Continued
The taro lo`i of Ke`anae and Wailuanui in East Maui are surely among the most photographed in the islands, ranking high along with the famous patchwork of irrigated rice and taro fields at Hanalei Valley on Kaua`i or the shimmering … Continued
Since 1990, the Maui County Department of Water Supply has been counting on wells in the Ha’iku aquifer system to provide as much as 24 million gallons a day of water. The water would not be used to serve residents … Continued
The staff report prepared for the Water Commission’s August 13 meeting contains a good, readable synopsis of the problems facing ‘Iao aquifer. Here we reprint several key sections of that report: Duty to Protect On May 13, 1997, the commission … Continued
In August, the Commission on Water Resource Management decided against designating the ‘Iao aquifer on Maui as a water management area. The decision, taken at the commission’s August 13 meeting in Kahului was made on a five-to-one vote, with Department … Continued