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Big Island,
Maui may declare
drought

With rainfall 'next to nothing,'
Puna, Hilo and Haleakala may
be added to the drought list

By Gary T. Kubota
Star-Bulletin

WAILUKU -- Record dry conditions on the Big Island and Maui are prompting county officials this week to consider issuing emergency drought declarations.

Harry Kim, Hawaii Civil Defense administrator, said the decision will be made later this week whether to extend the drought declaration to Puna and Hilo.

Other parts of the Big Island are already under a drought declaration.

Maui County water officials are expected to meet tomorrow to decide whether to issue an emergency drought declaration for the slopes of Haleakala from Haiku to Kanaio.

February was the driest month on record at the Kahului Airport and Hilo Airport -- 0.06 and 0.52 inch of rain, respectively. The previous record was 0.07 at Kahului in 1983 and 0.58 at Hilo in 1986.

The National Weather Service lead forecaster, Hans Rosendal, said rainfall on the Big Island and Maui in March has been "next to nothing."

"We don't see any drastic changes in the weather," he said.

Rosendal said the tradewinds are expected to return on Friday or Saturday, probably bringing some rain.

He said the islands have been experiencing weak tradewinds with no heavy showers in the last month and a half.

A declaration of a drought would enable Big Island officials to impose a no-burn ban in windward sections of Mauna Kea, where there have been two major brush fires within the past week.

Robert Takitani, Maui County water board chairman, said an emergency drought declaration would enable officials to use two wells at Hamakuapoko on a temporary basis.

The two wells were used last year to provide up to 1.5 million gallons a day, after the water was treated to take out traces of the chemical DBCP.

Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., the largest sugar plantation in the state, is considering whether to reduce crops and harvest some sugar earlier than usual.

"We can't plant if there is no water," said John Hoxie, vice president of agriculture.

"We're looking at salvage harvesting. If this condition stays the same for the next couple of weeks, we're probably going to have to start doing that."

Hoxie said some fields have not received water in nearly 30 days and the mean flow of a Wailoa ditch that feeds many fields has been about half of what it usually is for March.

Kim said rainfall in the Hilo-Puna area, normally the wettest parts of the island, averaged about 10 to 11 inches in February.

He said the rainfall was less than inch last month.