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Emergency drought
declared on Maui

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By Gary Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- With rain falling outside their meeting room, members of the Maui Board of Water Supply declared an "emergency drought" from Kanaio to Haiku yesterday and called for residents in the region to take voluntary conservation measures.

Residents are being urged to refrain from watering lawns and washing cars.

The drought declaration also enables the county to use two wells at Hamakuapoko that can provide up to 1.5 million gallons a day.

A Maui Circuit Court ruling allows the wells to be used only in drought conditions. The conditions were set after a lawsuit brought by environmentalists in the mid-1990s challenging the adequacy of an environmental impact statement for water development in east Maui.

Water director David Craddick said Maui's Upcountry region has experienced little rain this year.

Craddick said he's noticed that rain seems to fall when the board considers declaring a drought emergency.

Craddick said rainfall on Sunday took the edge off the drought.

"Whether we've seen the worst ... is anybody's guess," he said.

The flow from the Wailoa ditch, the main source of water, dropped to 19.9 million gallons a day Friday, then rose to 124.9 million gallons a day on Sunday during the rain.

The flow was 29.5 million gallons yesterday.

Water board Chairman Elmer Cravalho said he feels the drought situation was "difficult but manageable" at this time.

Steam flows in east Maui have been extremely low for January.

The Honopou Stream between Maliko Gulch and Keanae has been flowing at 10 percent of its average, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.

"It's probably representative of very dry conditions of that area of Maui," said Gordon Tribble, the Geological Survey's Hawaii district chief.