Suit settlement opens
wells for Maui waterExisting wells instead of new ones
will be tapped to supply needs
WAILUKU >> Maui County water officials plan to use several wells to relieve water demands in the central valley following the settlement of a lawsuit.
County water director George Tengan said up to 2 million gallons a day could be pumped from the wells at Hamakuapoko.
The county's wells at Iao have reached 90 percent of sustainable yield and forced government officials to look elsewhere for water sources.
Tengan said the 2 million gallons, expected to be used by the first quarter of next year, will provide water for such areas as Paia and Spreckelsville and could be pumped Upcountry in times of dry weather.
Maui Mayor Alan Arakawa's administration reached an agreement on a lawsuit this week filed more than 10 years ago that challenges the county's plan to take up to 16 million gallons a day from East Maui, including the Hamakuapoko wells.
The agreement allows the county to use the Hamakuapoko wells in return for dropping plans to drill 10 wells that would have supplied up to 16 million gallons a day in East Maui.
Attorney Isaac Hall said the settlement provides a number of protections to East Maui farmers who were worried about the plan's effect on water supply to their taro patches.
Hall said the county would have to conduct some studies before seeking to tap into ground water in East Maui, including a cost-benefit analysis about whether using sources from the West Maui Mountains would be a better alternative.
Hall said the agreement has been approved by the Coalition to Protect East Maui Water Resources and the native Hawaiian group Hui Alanui O Makena but still needs approval from national Sierra Club officials.
Hall said once the Sierra Club endorses the agreement, expected in about a week, the settlement will be filed in Maui Circuit Court.
