The Department of Hawaiian Homelands has West Maui tracts at Honokowai (D) near the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility and the Villages of Leialii in Lahaina (E) near Lahaina Civic Center.

HONOLULU – The State Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) will hold public hearings to receive testimony on proposed updates to the State Water Projects Plan (SWPP).

The SWPP identifies future water demands and source strategies for state water projects. This update of the SWPP focuses on water projects for the Department of Hawaiian Homelands.

A public review draft of the State Water Projects Plan is available online at the CWRM website at www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/cwrm/.

The Maui hearing will be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 12 at the Velma McWayne Santos Community Center at 395 Waena Place in Wailuku.

All interested persons are urged to attend the hearing and submit comments, orally or in writing.

Disabled individuals planning to attend the public hearing are asked to contact the CWRM at (808) 587-0214 at least three days in advance of the public hearing to indicate if they have special needs that require accommodation.

According to the draft of the State Water Projects Plan, the DHHL Land Management Division’s Kaanapali project is part of the Honokowai tract and involves 50 acres of commercial and industrial development.

The Villages of Lealii tract near Lahaina Civic Center and the remainder of the Honokowai tract near the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facilty include residential, sub agriculture and community land uses.

“The existing MDWS (Maui County Department of Water Supply) Lahaina Water System does not have the capacity to accommodate the increase in potable demand from these developments. DHHL is in the process of developing a potable water well mauka of the Honokowai tract, and as part of the Environmental Assessment for the well, is developing water transmission alternatives to integrate this well with the MDWS system and to provide service to the Honokowai tract, the Lealii tract and future MDWS demands in the area,” the draft plan notes.

“The Supplemental Ag and General Ag land use areas which will require irrigation water are located in the mauka portion of the tract. The County of Maui Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility is located adjacent to the makai boundary of the Honokowai tract, and can produce up to 9.0 MGD (million gallons per day) of R-1 recycled water; however, the facility currently only receives an average of 4 MGD. The distribution system currently consists of a 16-inch line to the Kaanapali golf course, and a 20-inch line through the Honokowai tract to an existing Maui Land & Pineapple reservoir at the mauka boundary of the tract. The County of Maui has plans to modify and expand the distribution system. DHHL and the County had discussions regarding servicing options in exchange for infrastructure within the Honokowai Tract; however, an agreement was not reached.

“Although there are no registered stream diversions in the vicinity, the Honokowai Stream runs through the General Ag portion of the tract, and its potential to provide surface water should be examined further. Additionally, the Maui Land & Pineapple Irrigation System Honokohau Ditch, including three reservoirs, is located along the mauka boundary of the tract. According to the 2004 AWUDP (Agricultural Water Use and Development Plan), the ditch is intact, but some sections are not being used, abandoned, or in a state of flux pending ownership issues. Should the forthcoming update of the AWUDP reveal the irrigation system as a viable option, the non-potable supply alternatives should be revisited.”