The recently approved memorandum of understanding between the Maui County Board of Water Supply (BWS) and Alexander & Baldwin calls for the two parties to arrive at several additional agreements relating to specific areas covered in the memorandum of understanding. Those areas are the Wailoa Ditch (which diverts water from East Maui and carries it to central Maui); the `Iao-Waikapu Ditch; wells in the North Shore, or Hamakuapoko, area; electric power; the Central Maui Source Joint Venture plan, under which the Board of Water Supply committed years ago to providing water for future development in the Wailuku-Kahului region; and the East Maui Water Development Plan. According to the MOU, “the implementation of this memorandum will be pursuant to one or more agreements to be negotiated and agreed upon as a package.” To date, none of those agreements has been completed.
Wailoa Ditch: Here, the BWS is to receive up to 12 million gallons a day (its prior allotment was 4 mgd). The rate the county pays for the water remains unchanged, at 6 cents per thousand gallons. In return for the additional ditch water, the MOU states, “A&B may receive an appropriate allocation of domestic water É to be mutually agreed upon” in an amendment to the Wailoa Ditch agreement.
In one of the more controversial elements of the MOU, the Board of Water Supply commits itself to cooperating with A&B “regarding appropriate permits or leases (short- and long-term) for East Maui waters from the state of Hawai`i.” A&B’s year-to-year permits to take water from East Maui are the subject of ongoing dispute. (For more information, see the August 1997 issue of Environment Hawai`i.) And although A&B has benefited from the stream diversions for more than a century, it is the Board of Water Supply that commits to developing a stream restoration program under the MOU.
`Iao-Waikapu Ditch: Under the MOU, so long as flows in the `Iao Stream are at least 11.5 million gallons a day, the Board of Water Supply may take up to 300,000 gallons per day from this source, or roughly 9 million gallons a month. For this, the BWS will pay A&B $2,000 a month. The county can take an additional 2 million gallons a day whenever the flow in the `Iao Stream exceeds 55 mgd. In this case, the county will pay 12 cents per thousand gallons.
Hamakuapoko wells: Development of wells in the North Shore of Maui has been the subject of controversy and lawsuits. The memorandum of agreement commits the county to expediting development of these wells. A&B will convey “necessary land and easements” to the Board of Water Supply for this development, in return for which it “may receive an appropriate allocation of domestic water.” In addition, A&B “will consider participating in the construction of the transmission line from the well site to the BWS’ Pa`ia system, in exchange for an appropriate allocation of water for its participation.”
Power: An A&B subsidiary, HC&S, agrees to provide power to the Board of Water Supply “at mutually agreed upon locations, at a price not to exceed that paid by Maui Electric.” In addition, the Board of Water Supply, “with HC&S’s cooperation,” agrees to “explore the long-term feasibility of developing hydroelectric and other alternative energy sources.”
Central Maui Source Joint Venture: Back in 1975, four developers – Wailea Development Company, Seibu Real Estate Co., Ltd., Hawaiiana Investment Co., Inc. (a subsidiary of C. Brewer & Co., Ltd.), and A&B Properties, Inc. – got together and agreed that they would together “study and develop water sources in the Central Maui area É in cooperation with BWS.” The agreement called for developing new water supply capacity for the Board of Water Supply totaling 19 million gallons a day, all of which would be allocated to the developers. As it turned out, the developers drilled three wells with a capacity of about 13 million gallons a day which has gone into the BWS system, but they have not received to date an equivalent allocation.
The memorandum of understanding calls for the “chairman of BWS (and/or his designees)” to start negotiations with representatives of the joint venture within 30 days of the signing of the MOU. Among items to be negotiated are existing usage, future usage, and the outstanding entitlement of the joint venture.
East Maui Water Development Plan: This plan has stalled as a result of extensive litigation initiated by residents of the North Shore who do not want to see water from their area transferred to Kihei and Makena while their own needs are unmet. Under the memorandum of understanding, the Board of Water Supply commits “to proceed expeditiously with the supplemental EIS [Environmental Impact Statement] for the project as originally planned.” The project, “as originally planned,” calls for drilling eight wells anticipated to have a total capacity of 16 million gallons per day. According to an EIS prepared in 1992, these wells would start in the west near Maliko Gulch and march eastward to a point just east of Peahi Road. With pumps, transmission lines, and tanks, the total cost was estimated in 1992 at nearly $50 million.
— Patricia Tummons
Volume 11, Number 1 July 2000
Leave a Reply