During public testimony, Paepae o He\u02bbeia executive director Hi\u02bbilei Kawelo, who oversees the care and management of the fishpond, stressed how little water in He\u02bbeia stream currently reaches the ocean.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 88-acre pond has three gates along the stream to let water in. The most makai gate functions tidally to let brackish water in. The one more mauka lets in just a trickle of water, Kawelo said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cOur makaha (gate) is boarded up by two 2-by-12s to not allow freshwater to come into the pond. If we pulled the boards, we would drain the stream. That\u2019s how little water makes its way down to our muliwai. You all know the importance of freshwater to stream and estuarine health and to the fishery of Kane\u02bbohe Bay. Our third gate, which is most mauka, is completely plugged up. It doesn\u2019t allow water into the stream,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne day, hopefully soon, within 180 days, we\u2019ll see an increase in freshwater making its way into our loko i\u02bba and out into Kane\u02bbohe Bay,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In written testimony, she explained, \u201cThe balance of fresh water and salt water input is what allows for phytoplankton production and algal growth, thus supplying herbivores like mullet and awa (milkfish), the keystone fishpond fish, food to grow. In addition, there was an \u02bbauwai (fresh water irrigation ditch) that was constructed traditionally to redirect the once abundant amounts of fresh water from He\u02bbeia Stream to the southeast corner of the fishpond.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She continued, \u201cWe always wondered why there is so little fresh water in the stream, thinking that through our years of restoration and the removal of invasive vegetation, we would see an increase in the amount of water in the stream. Just recently, it was brought to our attention that water is and has been diverted from He\u02bbeia Stream since the 1940s. With climate changing before our very eyes, we see sea level rising higher and higher every year. Rising sea levels inundate He\u02bbeia stream all the way up to Long Bridge quite often. Now, more so than ever before, the amount of instream flow needs to be maximized to give us a fighting chance against the impacts of climate change and help us realize our vision of \u02bb\u0100ina Momona (abundance) for He\u02bbeia.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to a November report by HNERR, research by University of Hawai\u02bbi at Manoa Ph.D. candidate Evan Lechner suggest that increased circulation from an influx of fresh water would also improve oxygen and salinity levels in the pond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Stunted Growth<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Just mauka of the fishpond, another non-profit, Kako\u02bbo \u02bbOiwi, has been busy clearing the land and has restored 14 acres of lo\u02bbi kalo. Ten more acres are ready for reopening, once enough water is available, and the potential is there to expand lo\u02bbi across 100 acres, according to staff with the He\u02bbeia estuarine reserve. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Kako\u02bbo \u02bbOiwi executive director Kanekoa Schultz testified in support of the proposed IIFS via Zoom, from the field.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBehind me, you can see the wetland and hear the ae\u2018o (endangered Hawaiian stilt) flying around. That water brings back the habitat for the endangered birds we see. Allowing the water to come back or increase, it gives K\u0101ko\u2018o \u2018Oiwi and our wonderful community a chance to hear the sounds of our ancestors. It allows us to fish, practice our culture,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A powerpoint by HNERR also noted that lo\u02bbi expansion will prevent sediment from reaching the fishpond and bay during storm floods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HNERR\u2019s Frederick Reppun, who helps coordinate the programs of the non-profits doing restoration work in the area and the Hawai\u2018i Institute of Marine Biology, said the proposed IIFS \u201cmoves us one step closer to the restoration we all want to see. It doesn\u2019t get us there by any means.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n The average flow increase under the new IIFS will be enough to complete some of the immediate lo\u2018i restoration planned, but in the long term, he said, \u201cwe need to look at how we can further increase flow or better use what\u2019s available.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Schultz said he looked forward to working with the BWS, but said 180 days is almost an entire kalo planting season and asked if the deadline for the agency to prepare to meet the IIFS could be shortened. Or perhaps there could be an interim release of water, the effects of which could be studied while allowing Kako\u02bbo \u02bbOiwi a chance to plan ahead, he suggested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ecosystem Benefits<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n As Kawelo and Schultz pointed out, increasing freshwater flow into He\u02bbeia Stream will benefit native fish and waterbirds. In its powerpoint, HNERR expanded on those benefits, and also described how insects and the state\u2019s only terrestrial mammal will benefit, as well. (The 1,385-acre He\u02bbeia estuarine reserve was established in 2017 as part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration\u2019s National Estuarine Research Reserve System, which is aimed at protecting and studying estuarine systems and includes 29 sites nationwide.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n HNERR\u2019s powerpoint noted that flood modeling indicates that if the baseflow of He\u02bbeia Stream is restored to pre-1940 levels, the amount of wetland habitat would more than double, from eight acres to 19 acres.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cRecent fish monitoring in He\u02bbeia shows native populations are only at the stream mouth, with almost 100 percent invasive aquarium fish detected through the wetland and He\u02bbeia Stream. Native fish, such as \u02bbaholehole and \u02bbama\u02bbama (mullet) were once found throughout the wetland,\u201d it stated.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Juvenile \u02bbama\u02bbama move between the stream and estuary daily as conditions allow, and increased streamflow would likely create the deeper, wider channels that they prefer to evade predators, it continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Native gobies will also benefit from the more defined channels and habitat connectivity that will result from increased stream flow, it stated, noting that with the mangrove removal and habitat restoration done so far, researchers with HNERR, The Nature Conservancy, and the state Division of Aquatic Resources have observed previously undocumented o\u02bbopu naniha in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HNERR pointed out that the upper reaches of the He\u02bbeia watershed are critical habitat for the blackline Hawaiian damselfly (Megalagrion nigrohamatum nigrolineatum<\/em>), and \u201creductions in streamflow likely limit the available habitat for Megalagrion, particularly during drought periods and in the middle and upper reaches that are prone to drying.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The organization also suggested that the endangered Hawaiian hoary bat, which commonly forage for water-dependent insects along stream edges, may also benefit from a stream with more water in it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Referring to Schultz\u2019s testimony from the field, HNERR manager Kawika Winter told the commission, \u201cI almost heard the ae\u2018o louder than his testimony; and I want to congratulate the [commission] staff because the ability to open up these hearings such that people can testify in their place gives the \u2018aina a chance to speak for itself, and we heard the \u2018\u0101ina testifying right there. I would say the ae\u2018o are testifying in support of a restoration of stream flow.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next Steps<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n After the Ha\u02bbiku Tunnel was drilled, the base flow of He\u02bbeia Stream dropped from about 2 mgd to about 1 mgd, Strauch told the commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat\u2019s a pretty big percentage,\u2019 commission chair Suzanne Case said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strauch said the stream really suffers during the dry season, when less than 300,000 gallons per day flows. \u201cThat is a trickle of water and that is affecting the instream values. That\u2019s what we are working on protecting,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Although the BWS disputes that the tunnel alone is what\u2019s caused the drop in stream flow \u2014 noting that flows did not rebound when the tunnel was out of service between 2010 and 2014 \u2014 Case said restoring greater flow to He\u02bbeia was a great opportunity to better understand the impacts of freshwater withdrawals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe know a fair amount of about temperature impacts of flow on kalo [warm flow is bad], but on invasive species, I don\u2019t know so much. In fish ponds, does the mangrove stay gone at different salinity levels? What do the waterbirds need in terms of salinity? This is a great place to study that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner Neil Hannahs seemed eager to keep the progress made so far going, as he was involved in the management of some of the lands and worked with some of the non-profits when he was employed by Kamehameha Schools, a major landowner in the area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u02bbs been amazing what\u02bbs happened to date. The potential of this to be iconic, a demonstration and continuing center of learning about our environment [is] very gratifying,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Winter noted that in addition to the Ha\u02bbiku Tunnel, a BWS channel also shunts water out of He\u02bbeia and into Kane\u02bbohe. He asked whether the commission is exploring ways to add that water back to He\u02bbeia Stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strauch said that channel, which takes water from a spring near Haleiwa Joe\u2019s, is a harder engineering challenge. \u201cI\u02bbm not giving up. This [new IIFS] is maybe step one of multiple steps,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The BWS\u2019s Lau said he would appreciate the commission\u2019s help in efforts to get the Kane\u02bbohe Marine Base, which uses an average of 2 mgd, to go back to watering its golf course with recycled water. \u201cWe tried to put pressure on them. They have their own time frame,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Barry Usagawa, program administrator for the BWS, added that conservation is the most cost-effective way to reduce the demand for potable water. <\/p>\n\n\n\n He said there are five large non-residential users in the system: the state hospital, Windward Community College, Pali Golf Course, Hawaiian Memorial Park, and Hawai\u2018i Pacific University, which will convert to a Castle Medical Center expansion. Aside from conservation, the next less-expensive solution to meet the IIFS is to drill more wells, he said. \u201cBut the other side of Hawaiian Memorial Park Cemetery is Kapa\u2018a Quarry, which has non-water bearing blue rock. The closer you get to Kailua, there\u2019s no chance for finding additional sources. You have a big impoundment at Ho\u2018omaluhia dam that\u2019s a possibility and would take infrastructure to get water from the dam to the big users, but it\u2019s a cost,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n However the BWS resolves its distribution problems, commissioner Kamana Beamer said he would like to see some action on the IIFS proposal before 180 days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cDomestic water use is a priority [but] there\u2019s a lot of non-public trust uses going on right now that are affecting the public trust. I think any of the non-public trust users should be notified that there is an upcoming decision by the commission,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIf we can get important issues addressed, maybe not perfected \u2026 we can get it on the agenda by June, if not sooner,\u201d Hannahs added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Teresa Dawson<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Even in the rainy Koʻolaupoko region of Windward Oʻahu, which stretches from Hakipuʻu to Makapuʻu, there is competition for water when it’s dry. Over the past several years, efforts to restore taro fields, an ancient Hawaiian fishpond, and the estuary … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[480],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-13341","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-march-2021","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13341","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13341"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13341\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13341"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13341"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13341"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/03\/Image-2-27-21-at-12.59-PM-1024x730.jpg\")
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