Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 8, 1 August 1995 — Temporary Waiāhole water settlement reached [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Temporary Waiāhole water settlement reached

Final decision awaits results of upcoming contested case hearings

by Patrick Johnston As part of a short-term water allocation ruling, the State Water Commission has decided to increase the amount of water Central O'ahu farmers presently

receive from the Waiāhole Irrigation Ditch by 1.4 million gallons a day (mgd). The ruling will remain in effect until the Water Commission concludes contested case hearings on Waiāhole Ditch water use some time in the fall.

Hearings schedule Hearing on motions, Aug 15, 9 a.m., House chambers Prehearing conference no. 4, Sept 7, 9 a.m. Prehearing conference no. 5, Oct 5, 9 a.m. Contested case hearings: November 7- 9, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Call 587-0214 for updated times and !ocations

The decision was made after a six-month interim water agreement expired in June leaving uncertain who would receive how mueh from the irrigation system. Under the old

agreement, Windward farmers had been receiving 16 mgd and Central O'ahu farmers 12 mgd. When the agreement expired, the Waiāhole Irrigation Company, the Amfac subsidiary that owns the Waiāhole Ditch, had threatened to redivert 2-4 mgd back to Central O'ahu, forcing a standoff between Amfac and Windward farmers. Amfac eventually decided against the diversion. Under the new agreement, Central O'ahu farmers will be receiving 13.4 mgd and Windward farmers 14.6 mgd. Central O'ahu farmers had asked for 16 mgd.

The decision was seen as a victory for Windward farmers who feel they are entitled to at least half the water coming through the system. Central O'ahu farmers, on the other hand, were angered by the ruling saying that the decision would mean that some Central O'ahu farmers would have to stop farming or cut back on production. Water Commission Chairman Mike Wiison said, however, that the decision is not necessarily an indicator of what the Water Commission will finally eonūnueā on page 4

Water Commission decision from page 1

decide after contested case hearings end some time in the fall. Since 1992. the aquifer systems of Windward O'ahu have been designated groundwater management areas, requiring water-use permits. The Water Commission has been holding prehearing eonferences for the past few months

in preparation for upcoming eontested case hearings. The results of the contested case hearings will determine long term alloeation for Waiāhole Ditch water. Fifteen groups including Amfac, a number of large estates, OHA and Windward farmers have submitted water-use applieations to the Commission. OHA land officer Linda Delaney says, as an interim decision, the Commission ruling is fine but argues that the issue of unused water resources on

Central O'ahu side needs to be more seriously addressed. She argues that water formerly pumped by the O'ahu Sugar Company from Central O'ahu aquifers is presently not being tapped, and that EPA-mandated effluent use - the use of sewage water treated by the Honolulu

Board of Water Supply - has not been fully undertaken by the city. These water sources, while more expensive, are not available to the Windward community and represent a means by whieh Central O'ahu farmers could meet their irrigation needs without having to tap into Windward O'ahu sources. Delaney adds OHA is eoncerned that actions supporting agricultural interests by large private estates on Central O'ahu are merely holding pattems and that

these landowners' long range plan is urbanization. *To our knowledge, no farmers are getting leases for more than 15 years. They (private landowners) are water banking."

Farmland in Waiahole Valley. Photo by Deborah Ward