Waiahole water remains at issue

HONOLULU—The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) Commission on Water Resource Management has released its July 2011 Monthly Bulletin on issues relating to Water Management Area water use petitions, the designation of Water Management Areas, contested case hearings, and other types of permit applications.

Of the eight petitions for the reservation of water on Oahu, six of them involve water flowing in the Waiahole Ditch.

The State Department of Agriculture has filed a complete petition to reserve over 47 million gallons daily (MGD) from the ditch for agricultural purposes in Central and Windward Oahu.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs’ Committee on Land and Sovereignty has filed a complete petition to reserve 11 MGD of water from the Waiahole Ditch for present and future Hawaiian uses in the Waiahole area.

The Kahaluu Neighborhood Board, Waiahole Waikane Community Association and the Hakipuu Ohana have filed a complete petition for the reservation of all of the water from the Waiahole Ditch that is developed on the Windward side of Oahu, for agricultural uses.

The Kamehameha Schools/Bernice Pauahi Bishop Estate has filed a complete petition to reserve all of the waters originating fromthe ahupua’a of Waiawa, estimated to be 4.2 MGD, that flow in the Waiahole Ditch. The stated purpose is to serve future development on seven parcels of land in the Waiawa area.

The State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands has filed a complete petition to reserve an estimated 410,000 MGD of water from Waiahole Stream to serve its beneficiaries on five parcels of land, some 82 acres, in Waiahole.

The State Division of State Parks has filed a water reservation of an estimated 125,000 MGD of water from Kahana Stream to serve agricultural programs and residential lessees’ subsistence agricultural permits in Kahana Valley State Park. This reservation is not presently part of the Waiahole Ditch combined contested case.

In October 2010, the State appeals court rejected two of three claims by Windward Oahu interests to restore more water to Windward streams, upholding most of a 2006 decision by the Commission on Water Resource Management regarding the allocation of Waiahole water, which provided roughly equal amounts to Windward and Central Oahu.