\u201cWhere is the justice in this?\u201d Hui o Na Wai \u2018Eh\u0101 president H\u014dk\u016bao Pellegrino asked the state Commission on Water Resource Management at its September 21 meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In June, the commission issued its decision and order in a contested case hearing over water use permits for the Na Wai \u2018Eh\u0101 surface water management area in Central Maui. The order, which established who was entitled to water and how much each permittee should receive, gave priority to native Hawaiian traditional and customary uses, domestic uses, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands reservations, and the Maui Department of Water Supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yet, as Pellegrino and other Hui members allege in a complaint they filed August 11, the company that controls the old plantation-era distribution system continues to deprive native Hawaiian taro growers of the water they deserve. The Hui argues that Wailuku Water Company (WWC), which owns and operates the ditch system that diverts Waikap\u016b, Waihe\u2018e, Wailuku, and Waiehu streams, is instead providing water to its customers first, even if they have lower-priority use permits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The company has cut off or restricted flows to those taro growers and other kuleana landowners by pouring concrete where a wooden gate used to be and installing a locked valve on a pipe that taps the reservoir those kuleana users must rely on because of that concrete.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to the Hui, the problem dates back to last October, when WWC installed the butterfly valve and lock on the pipe that releases water into the South Waikap\u016b kuleana \u2018auwai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hui and the taro farming families who rely on that \u2018auwai complained to commission deputy director Kaleo Manuel about their lack of water following the valve\u2019s installation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Manuel was unable to get the commission to take any action on the matter because the commission could only address interim instream flow standard issues at the time. But Manuel believed that the final decision and order, which established water allocations and priority uses, would allow the commission to resolve the issue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201c[Y]et after two months since the Final D&O has been out, nothing has happened,\u201d Pellegrino complained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Meanwhile former WWC vice president Clayton Suzuki \u201chas been able to capture whatever amount of water is flowing into the kuleana \u2018auwai,\u201d Pellegrino wrote. Suzuki, he pointed out, \u201cdoes not have appurtenant rights that are recognized in the 2021 Final D&O and does not have Native Hawaiian lineal\/cultural T&C rights.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Hui also points out in its complaint that Waikap\u016b Properties, LLC, a cattle ranch that takes its water from the reservoir, has the lowest priority permit and is also receiving water before any of the other kuleana users. The Hui also alleges that the company is providing water to a farm that should not be receiving water from Waikap\u016b Stream.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Under the commission\u2019s order, Suzuki was granted a water use permit for 10,850 gallons per day (gpd) and Waikap\u016b Properties got one for 1,838 gpd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drying Up<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n In 1850, there were 121-plus acres of taro on kuleana lands south of Waikap\u016b Stream; now there are fewer than eight, Pellegrino told the commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that in 1904, with the construction of what is now known as Reservoir 1, kuleana taro farmers were cut off from their traditional \u2018auwai and forced to rely on delivery of water via the plantation ditch system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fourteen years ago, according to WWC data, 13 South Waikap\u016b kuleana users were being provided with 840,000 mgd, \u201cduring one of Maui\u2019s severe droughts along with active cultivation of sugarcane by HC&S on Waikap\u016b Field #735 off of S. Waikap\u016b Ditch,\u201d the Hui\u2019s complaint notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Since then, the number of active taro farmers in the area has dropped to six, and the commission has allocated only 265,188 gpd to the South Waikap\u016b kuleana users. <\/p>\n\n\n\n So why aren\u2019t they getting it, when WWC provided more than three times that amount to kuleana users 14 years ago?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Drought might explain some of the shortfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Maui has been in a long-term drought, CWRM hydrologist Ayron Strauch told the commission. For the most part, every single month, flow in Waikap\u016b Stream has been below the long-term average, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2020, there were a lot of days when the interim instream flow standards set by the commission were not being met because of both a decline in rainfall and efforts by WWC to meet the needs of offstream users, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This past June, WWC, citing drought conditions, sought emergency relief from the IIFS for Waikap\u016b Stream and asked the commission for permission to increase its diversions. That request was denied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A month later, and after the commission had issued its decision and order, WWC reported that its emergency control gate from Reservoir 1 had been vandalized so that it would release more water into the South Waikap\u016b \u2018auwai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WWC informed the commission that it would \u201cshut down ditch flow to install a hollow-tile wall to seal off additional releases to South Waikap\u016b \u2018auwai,\u201d according to commission staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Solutions<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To resolve the issue, the Hui proposed that the commission limit flows into Reservoir 1 and require WWC to release water to kuleana users via the sluice gate the company recently cemented shut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n According to Strauch, the unlined reservoir leaks 150,000 gpd when it\u2019s full. It\u2019s designed to hold 12 million gallons of water, but Manuel says it probably can hold only about seven million gallons currently due to siltation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If kuleana users \u2014 and Suzuki \u2014 receive water through the sluice gate, the only permitted user of the reservoir left would be Waikap\u016b Properties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhy would you want to fill a seven million gallon reservoir for 1,800 gallons a day for offstream use? The solution is very clear. Very easy,\u201d Pellegrino told the commission.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He pointed out that the reservoir needs to be full before the water level is high enough to reach the pipe that provides water to the kuleana \u2018auwai. So in drier times, Waikap\u016b Properties would have access to water, but the kuleana users would not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To make the sluice gate functional again, CWRM would have to require Wailuku Water Co. to remove the cement, keep the gate open, and install a gage to provide the right amount of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hui also asked the commission to require Suzuki to receive his water after <\/em>the kuleana users, and to ensure that Waikap\u016b Properties is the only off-stream user of the South Waikap\u016b Ditch and Reservoir 1.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The commission\u2019s decision and order calls on the kuleana users to seek to reduce water losses from their unlined \u2018auwai. Pellegrino said he had done a feasibility study years ago to determine the cost of upgrading the kuleana ditch. The cost then was roughly $150,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLast week, I got quotes from the only two piping companies on Maui. We\u2019re now looking at $865,000,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even if the Hui wanted to upgrade the \u2018auwai, they couldn\u2019t, since it runs across land owned by Waikap\u016b Properties and is covered by a perpetual easement held by WWC.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese kuleana landowners have literally been threatened [and] asked to not go to the reservoir [or] to clean the ditch,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Hui asked the commission to either require WWC and Waikap\u016b Properties to provide the kuleana users access to maintain and manage 0.9 miles of \u2018auwai \u201cAND\/OR to allow access to restore the traditional \u2018auwai system from the Waikap\u016b Stream (0.25 miles).\u201d That land is also privately owned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Earthjustice attorney Isaac Moriwake urged the commission to take the Hui\u2019s proposals seriously.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cHow unprecedented this is,\u201d Moriwake said. He\u2019s represented the Hui for the last 20 or so years and has \u201cnever seen an outright dictatorial cutoff\u201d of water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He noted that WWC\u2019s own founding documents recognize priority kuleana rights in times of drought, and the commission\u2019s order recognized native Hawaiian rights and made them a top priority.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow we need to start acting like we mean it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Moriwake recounted that in 2017, when WWC was failing to meet the IIFS that had been agreed to in a settlement with the Hui and others, then-Water Commissioner William Balfour said it seemed like WWC was getting away with murder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWhat do we call this? Kuleana rights have been around more than a century before IIFS,\u201d Moriwake said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Next Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner Mike Buck asked stream protection branch head Dean Uyeno what he would recommend to ensure compliance with the commission\u2019s June decision and order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI think one possibility may be to, as Mr. Pellegrino noted, directly feed the kuleana \u2018auwai and cattle operation from the intake and remove the reservoir. That would address some of the loss issues,\u201d Uyeno replied.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He continued, \u201cEliminating the use of the reservoir, that would need to come from an order from the commission. It\u2019s private property. There are issues with building up storage capacity in times of drought. The issue needs to be discussed in more detail.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strauch later suggested that compartmentalizing the reservoir might help improve its ability to provide water to the kuleana \u2018auwai \u201cwithout removing the reservoir\u2019s functionality.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n No WWC representative participated in the commission\u2019s Zoom meeting last month, and the company submitted no written testimony on the Hui\u2019s petition. Even so, Manuel said his office has been communicating with the company and trying to facilitate discussions among all the parties.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAny final decision needs to happen with this commission. I will say we shared all the same information with all the parties,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This month, the commission staff plans to recommend a formal action on ways to ensure water is delivered to kuleana users. While those recommendations are still being worked out, it was clear last month that commissioners want to see their order followed and are open to the solutions offered by the Hui.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIs there anything in the four solutions advanced by the Hui that is not in keeping with our decision and order? Do the solutions of the Hui strengthen our enforcement of the decision and order?\u201d asked commissioner Neil Hannahs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Manuel replied that the short answer was that the Hui\u2019s proposals were in line with the commission\u2019s order with regard to reducing waste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He added that his office is investigating some longer-term strategies, including how the reservoir is used and whether it continues to be used.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner Aurora Kagawa-Viviani worried that, as the system is set up now, \u201cthe person at the end of the line gets short shrift.\u201d While the Hui and commission staff discussed a number of engineering solutions, she asked how the commission could also \u201cmediate these power issues.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commission chair and director Suzanne Case said that\u2019s something the commission wrestled with in making its June decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOne complication is we are not part of the agreement between the users and the distributors,\u201d Case said. \u201cWe need to be careful what is our role and what is the role [of users]. It is a complicated system and set of people … very much complicated by the drought situation. As the climate changes and earth warms, distribution of water gets more random. … This is a little microcosm of what is happening all over the planet.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe just have to do our best to moderate as we are required to do and are able to do,\u201d she continued. \u201cI appreciate the staff bringing this as an information item. It\u2019s been really helpful to bring information items before action items. … The absence of WWC in these discussions is notable and problematic. … I\u2019m not going to speculate on why they\u2019re not here. I\u2019m sure they have some positions they\u2019ll have to express.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Also in answer to Kawaga-Viviani\u2019s question, commissioner Hannahs said that the commission did set policy in its June decision and order, and now it needs to enforce that policy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With regard to enforcement, he added, \u201ctrying to play cops against people who are trying to create problems or are misaligned with our decision, it\u2019s not an efficient way to go about business. We need a better community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n He said that\u2019s why he appreciated the Hui\u2019s work and Manuel\u2019s efforts to meet with people offline, to help \u201cget through historical polarities [and] try to bring them around to the new order we are trying to impose here. We need to be persistent and relentless.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Strauch said his office has been working with WWC to obtain reports on both the amount of water diverted and the amount of water distributed to the \u2018auwai. He added that end users must also report what they use, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s our responsibility to make sure the IIFS is maintained. We just can\u2019t run around measuring everybody\u2019s use,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For Further Reading<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Some of our more recent articles on this issue, available at environment-hawaii.org: <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI constantly hear reasons why we can\u2019t do things. Joy is the reason why we can … with resources, obviously, but leadership,\u201d Water Commission deputy director Kaleo Manuel said after Joy Gannon, director of utilities for the Lana\u2018i Water Company, briefed the commission on the utility\u2019s operations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI wanted to give the commission an example … of what can be done on a system level if you take the time and have the right leadership,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2012, billionaire Larry Ellison\u2019s Lana\u2018i Resorts, LLC bought the island of Lana\u2018i. By April 2019, the company, renamed Pulama Lana\u2018i, has invested some $10 million in improving the island\u2019s water and wastewater systems.<\/p>\n\n\n\n With both of its wastewater treatment facilities able to produce high-quality, R1 wastewater, \u201cwe are the only island that has the capability of recycling all of its wastewater,\u201d Gannon said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In 2016, the utility began implementing \u201csmart irrigation,\u201d installing a weather monitoring station at Manele, which has a Four Seasons resort and a golf course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In addition to being irrigated with only brackish or recycled water, each one of the golf course\u2019s sprinklers are tied to a computer system that allows for fine-tuning the amount of water to be spread in a certain area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The utility was also an early adopter of the American Water Works Association\u2019s water audit, which forces utilities to examine the volume of water being used, the validity of the data it receives on that use, and financial impacts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It initially didn\u2019t even have any real maps of the water lines and existing meters, she said, adding, \u201cWe had some real big gaps and problems.\u201d So during the first two years of its audit, it was focused on improving its validity score.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are one of the water audit fanatics I guess you might say. We actually do a water audit every single month to see irregularities in our data,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The utility eventually replaced nearly all of the island\u2019s water meters with smart meters, she said. And of the 1,700 or so customers with smart meters, nearly 20 percent of them also use EyeOnWater to track their usage and detect leaks, she said. Customers can view their usage through eyeonwater. com or its app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smart meters will log how much water passes through every 15 minutes or every hour, depending on the type of meter installed. The meter then texts that information to a database.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For EyeOnWater customers, if a leak is suspected, the customer is sent an email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In the beginning, one in every six meters detected a leak, she said, adding that since then, leaks have become less common.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Between 2016 and 2020, total pumping dropped from a little more than 1.75 million gallons a day (mgd) to less than 1.5 mgd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSome of it was just plain old irrigation and water line improvements,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The utility has also installed smart meters on its distribution lines. Combined with a GIS system, the utility is alerted to when and where a leak is occurring, and can send a drone out to view the site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are able to plug [GIS coordinates] into the drone. It has a map of where to fly,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After Gannon\u2019s presentation, commissioner Neil Hannahs said he really appreciated what had been done at the golf course. \u201cIs this common among golf course operators or are you in a lead position?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe technology that\u2019s being used at the golf course is quite frankly phenomenal. It\u2019s cutting edge,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She warned that having the technology alone isn\u2019t enough. \u201cYou gotta match it with the staff\u2019s willingness to use that technology,\u201d she said, adding that there is a learning curve. Ellison\u2019s willingness to replace leaking pipes had a huge impact, as well, she added.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hannahs said he hoped resort and golf course organizations are getting together to reduce their water use. When the commission is faced with a need to supply water to support an economic opportunity, the cost of system upgrades is thrown out as the reason why they can\u2019t do it, he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe can\u2019t have the natural capital keep giving way just because people don\u2019t want to make the financial investment,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Commissioner Aurora Kagawa-Viviani asked how a Lana\u2018i\u2019s meter system would work with a bigger utility. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply serves 1 million people a day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gannon said that metering could be done by district. \u201cYou basically have a supply meter and all your demand meters below that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Again, she stressed that technology alone will not be enough to reduce water losses.\u201cYou have to work with your customers,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u2014 Teresa Dawson<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" “Where is the justice in this?” Hui o Na Wai ‘Ehā president Hōkūao Pellegrino asked the state Commission on Water Resource Management at its September 21 meeting. In June, the commission issued its decision and order in a contested case … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":13868,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[488,28],"tags":[3],"class_list":["post-13886","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-october-2021","category-water","tag-teresa-dawson"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13886","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=13886"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13886\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/13868"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13886"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13886"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/environment-hawaii.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13886"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n\n\nLana\u2018i Water System Shines As Example to Other Operators<\/h2>\n\n\n\n