Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 5, 1 May 1995 — OHA defends traditional Windward water rights [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

OHA defends traditional Windward water rights

by Patrick Johnston To an outsider the solution might seem obvious: Water from the Wai'āhole ditch system supports a wide variety of agricultural and resi-

dential concems in Central and Leeward O'ahu and will likely play a critical role in any future development that takes plaee there. It also is important for the recharge

of the Pearl Harbor aquifer, the water supply for a significant portion of the state's

population. Why should the state Water Commission be concemed with a handful of farmers and communities trying to eke out a subsistence lifestyle on the Windward side? But for those at the center of the issue, the problem is larger and far more complex. On the one side are the old landed interests of the state: Robinson, Campbell and Bishop Estates; and large companies like Dole Food Co., and the Wai'āhole Irrigation Company, a subsidiary of AMFAC. Major state departments like the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Department of Agriculture and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply also oppose redirecting significant amounts of water back to the Windward side. On the other side are what might be called

the traditional landed people: taro farmers, subsistence growers, communities that have bonded as a result of a eommon rural and cultural heritage. For the established interests what is at stake is the status quo; for communities what is at stake is a way of life. Also on the Windward side are environ-

mental concerns: the survival of endemic and endangered species in streams, wetlands and estuaries. These were the major issues brought up at what water commissioner Robert Nakata called a "historic" Water

Com-mission hearing held April 18 at Washington īntermediate Elementary School in Honolulu. The hearing was held to gather testimony on applications for water-use permits for Wai'āhole water and to hear testimony from the public on these applications. Since 1992 the aquifer systems of Windward O'ahu have been designated groundwater management areas; a water-use permit is required for any withdrawal or diversion of water in such areas. What the commission decides will go a long way in determining what direction the island takes as the sugar industry winds

down and is replaced by other forms of eeonomie activity. At stake are 27 millions gallons of water per day (mgd) produced daily from the Wai'āhole Ditch - a tunnel system originating in the Kahana valley that has been diverting water from the Windward side to Central O'ahu for the past 80 years. The

O'ahu Sugar Co. used most of this water (approximately 25 mgd) before it closed its doors this year. Lines had been drawn well before the hearing, but tempers stayed remarkably eool as the different groups -

including a grade four class from 'Āhuimanu Elementary school - laid out their positions before the Water Commission. Nine applicants - the major ones being Campbell Estate, the Department of Land and Natural Resources, and the Robinson Estate - submitted a joint permit appliealion for water to continue their existing uses. (These are mostly agriculture and golf courses.) Others have new water needs. Bishop Estate has applied for 4.2 mgd for new irrigation uses at Waiawa Nursery and at the proposed Waiawa by Gentry development. continued on page 6

"lf our traditional and eontemporary right to simply and truly be Hawaiian is not protected and assured in Hawai'i, we will no longer exist." - Kīnau Boyd Kamali'i

Kīnau Boyd Kamali'i

Supporters of a Hawaiian home lands claims settlement march in front of the Legislature at a rally last month. Photo by Patrick Johnston

Wai'ahole water page 1

Dole Food Company says it needs 2.7 mgd for existing and other agricultural uses in Waipio. The state Department of Agriculture (DOA) and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply (BWS) want to reserve water, nearly 48 mgd, for groundwater recharge, golf courses, and agriculture on Central and Windward O'ahu. (The BWS/DOA request includes water pumped from the Pearl Harbor Aquifer.) Opposing these groups is the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, whieh has asked for a reservation of 11.1 mgd for present and future uses of water "in traditional and customary agriculture" on puhlie trust lands in the Wai'āhole area. OHA has also submitted a petition to amend the interim instream flow standard to completely restore all Windward O'ahu streamflows affected by the Wai'āhole Ditch System. This would lead to increased taro cultivation, help restore the "ecological vitality" of the streams, and allow for the gathering of traditional foods such as 'o'opu, hlhlwai and 'ōpae. However, for OHA, the issue goes beyond fish, farming, houses or golf courses. "If our traditional and contemporary right to simply and truly be Hawaiian is not protected and assured in Hawai'i," Trustee Kīnau Boyd Kamali'i said in her testimony before the Water Commission, "we will no longer exist." Kamali'i added that it is important to "assert and assure those other rights whieh will be essential" to the success of a future Hawaiian nation. "Water," the testimony goes on, "is clearly such a resource right." OHA believes that Leeward O'ahu has enough groundwater sources to supply its needs, especially if sewage effluents ean be reclaimed and recycled and if appropriate conservation measures ean be put in plaee. In fact, the City and County of Honolulu is being required by the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) to use effluent in Central O'ahu or face thousands of dollars a day in fines. The Kahalu'u Neighborhood Board #29, the Wai'āhole-Waikāne Community Association and the Hakipu'u 'Ohana have taken positions similar to OHA's, requesting a significant reservation of water for taro, diversified agriculture and aquaculture on the Windward side and restoring the streams to the amount historicalIy taken away from the Windward side by the Wai'āhole system. The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is also looking to reserve water - slightly less than .5 mgd for future homestead development in Wai'āhole. In contrast to this were the positions laid out by the various Central O'ahu land owners and govemment departments involved in the issue. Representatives from Campbell and Robinson Estates emphasized the need to create jobs in Central O'ahu and the importance of Wai'āhole water on the recharge of the Pearl Harbor aquifer. Nathan Aipa of Bishop Estate pointed out that only two percent of its land was used for revenue generating purposes and the use of Wai'āhole water for development on its Waiawa land was crucial for the estate to carry out its mission to educate Hawaiian children. He argued that the conservation area that provides a significant portion of Wai'āhole water was Bishop Estate land and the preservation of that water shed was managed by Bishop Estate. Dole Food Company said irrigation supplied by the Wai'āhole water was critical for the company to keeps its fresh fmit production going, an operation that provided hundreds of jobs year round for the state and was one of its major exports. Officials from the Department of Agriculture and the Honolulu Board of Water Supply - who are interested in reserving a significant portion of Wai'āhole Water - gave testimony stressing the importance of recharging the Pearl Harbor aquifer and developing diversified agriculture in Central O'ahu. Because there are objections to most of the applications and petitions for use of Wai'āhole water the Water Commission has ordered that a contested case hearing be held. The Commission will determine whieh parties have standing at its May 5 meeting and wdl begin pre-hearing conferences May 9. The contested case hearings are expected to begin in July.