Many on Maui
await county water
No meters are available since a
By Gary T. Kubota
lawsuit stopped well drilling in Haiku
Star-BulletinKULA -- Calvin Shibuya has been waiting more than five years for a county water meter to build his dream house in Kula overlooking Maui's central valley.
"I waited so long I bought a house with a meter," said Shibuya, manager and baker at Komoda Store & Bakery.
Across the Upcountry region along the western slopes of Haleakala, more than 565 residents are waiting for county water, unable to build homes and expand businesses.
The county water board says no water meters are available mainly because a lawsuit has stopped well drilling in Haiku.
Environmentalists and native Hawaiians in 1993 filed a lawsuit objecting to the county drilling wells in east Maui that might affect stream flow in native forests.
The Coalition to Protect East Maui Water Resources has opposed the use of wells in Haiku and Hamakuapoko.
"You've got to realize, the stream flows have already been greatly diminished by plantation and county diversions," said coalition spokeswoman Dana Naone Hall.
"The great majority of the streams in east Maui have been diverted in four to six locations."
The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a well study and is expected to complete the survey within six months.
County Water Director David Craddick said that, if built properly, a well does not have to affect stream flow.
Craddick said the ditch system in east Maui takes only 15 percent of the surface water from the streams and that east Maui has a vast storage of underground water -- more than what's provided for Oahu.
"We only catch a small fraction of what goes into the ocean," he said.
Hall said the county has had many years to prepare an environmental impact statement about the effect of wells on stream flows but has not completed it properly.
Hall said she fears the county will use an emergency drought declaration in the future to develop additional wells.
"I don't think anybody has an objection to a backup system for emergency so long as the emergency situation is not used as a cloak for getting east Maui water," she said.
Meanwhile, the waiting list is growing, with more than 565 requests since 1993.
Water meters have been granted to individuals developing their own well sources, such as Kulamanu developer Everett Dowling, who is paying more than $1 million for water development.
Water board Vice Chairman Warren Watanabe, a Kula farmer, said more people are using the water system and reducing the quality of service in some areas.
"Even myself, I've noticed a reduction in pressure," he said.
