Water ruling may
land in high court

Winward advocates say
the Waiahole Ditch decision is
politically motivated

By Pat Omandam
Star-Bulletin

An appeal to the Hawaii Supreme Court of the Waiahole Ditch decision seems likely after Windward advocates called yesterday's water commission ruling politically motivated.

"What appears to have happened is the governor and the developers looked at the proposed decision and they huffed, they puffed and the governor made his noises, and the water commission blinked," said attorney Paul Achitoff, who represents Windward community interests.

The final decision gives Leeward agriculture and other interests direct access to 15.61 million gallons per day of ditch water.

Although the new plan has 11.39 million gallons of water going to the Windward side, almost twice the amount of an earlier proposal, only 6 million gallons a day is guaranteed for that side. The other 5.39 million gallons will remain in Windward streams for now but could be diverted to the Leeward side in the future. An agricultural reserve of 1.58 million gallons a day, designated for Leeward agricultural expansion, will also stay in Windward streams for now.

The decisions are effective immediately.

State Rep. Colleen Meyer (R, Laie-Waiahole) said the ruling is clearly a political decision which has made a mockery of the detailed work by the state Commission on Water Resource Management.

"I think its what's done over and over in this state," she said.

"Get everybody to jump through hoops and through the process, which costs a lot of money, and then still do what you damn well wanted to do in the first place," Meyer said.

Leeward opponents also say politics played a part in last September's dismissal of William Tam, a former state deputy attorney general who had worked on the water commission for 17 years. And they point to Commission Deputy Director Rae Loui's nomination to the Public Utilities Commission as a way to curry the commission's favor.

Gov. Ben Cayetano could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon but had stated publicly that the proposed decision for Waiahole didn't give enough water to the Leeward side.

Loui, who leaves the commission Jan. 16, said the commission got a good grasp for the demand of what she called the best source of ground water on Oahu during the 2-1/2-year case. She believes commissioners were able to adequately meet the needs of parties involved.

Loui said the decision recognizes three things regarding Oahu water: that its needs will grow in Leeward Oahu, there's a lack of information on island stream flows, and alternative sources of fresh water must be found in the future.

"What it does is the decision encourages the use of reclaimed water and it prevents waste by allowing agriculture to take only what's needed from the stream," she said.

Commission members declined to comment on the ruling. Loui said they want the parties involved as well as others to read the decision, which they feel speaks for itself.

Those involved in the case have 30 days to appeal the decision with the Hawaii high court.

Larry Jefts, owner of Waikele Farms, said he's relieved the commission ruled on Waiahole, but there's a lot to review before he can say how it will affect him.

Jefts expected a decision a year ago, and said his operation is ready to break out of the starting gates and expand if the water is there.

"The key here will be that the regulations are not so onerous that we can't operate the system," he said.

Both Achitoff and Meyer say Windward advocates will discuss whether an appeal should be filed. Both agree Leeward agriculture isn't using the Waiahole water it already has and giving it more will just be wasted until landowners decide to develop their properties.