Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 8, 1 August 1995 — OHA's Waiahole water application [ARTICLE]

OHA's Waiahole water application

In its application to the Water Commission, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs has asked for a reservation of 11.1 million gallons/day (mgd) from the Waiāhole Ditch for present and future uses of water in traditional and customary agriculture on puhlie trust lands in the Waiāhole 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 Waiāhole Ditch system. OHA land officer Linda Delaney says OHA's position takes into consideration immediate Windward needs but is also based on a long-term vision for the area and the Hawaiian community as a whole. By reserving water for future tradilional uses of water

on public lands - located largely in the Kahana and Waiāhole Valleys - OHA hopes to lay some of the groundwork for nationbuilding after a possible land claims settlement. By having the Commission restore Windward streamflows, OHA hopes to rejuvenate the ecological vitality of all the ahupua'a affected by the Waiāhole Ditch and, in the process, restore traditional Hawaiian rights such as the gathering of 'o'opu, hīhīwai and 'ōpae. "If you have healthy streams, you assure traditional rights," she says. Delaney adds that OHA's actions have an educational element to them as well. "We're trying to get people to understand resource management with Hawaiian eommon law. ... If you take it (resource management) from Hawaiian thought, not Western thought, then you have a better sense of how to manage limited island resources."