Hui O Ka Wai Ola Program Manager Liz Yannell retrieves water samples at Polanui-Uhailio in Lāhainā. PHOTO BY HUI O KA WAI OLA.

LĀHAINĀ — The community-based water quality monitoring program Hui O Ka Wai Ola (Association Of The Living Waters) is increasing its response to the Lāhainā wildfires by launching four additional testing sites in West Maui and by hiring the organization’s first Fire Response Team Lead.

While HOKWO’s West Side Lab was destroyed in the August wildfires, the organization has continued actively monitoring coastal water conditions in West Maui and was the first group to perform post-fire sampling in the area.

On Aug. 14, HOKWO collected samples from 15 West Maui sites flanking either side of Lāhainā. On Aug. 30, HOKWO gained access to the burn zone and resumed sampling at its three existing Lahaina sites — 505 Front Street, Kauaula Road and Polanui-Uhailio — while strategically adding four new sampling sites: Mala Tavern, Mala Ramp, Papalaua Street, and Lāhainā Harbor.

HOKWO is one of the only environmental groups in the area that is working under a Quality Assured Project Plan (QAPP), producing data that is documented as quality assured and quality controlled, and can be used by state and local organizations.

“Maui’s nearshore coral reefs will be impacted by toxins, pollution and debris from the devastating fires in Lāhainā, and data to assess and understand those impacts is essential,” said Kim Falinski, marine science advisor for The Nature Conservancy, Hawai’i and Palmyra.

“The logistics of collecting water samples are complicated by the ongoing tragedy and recovery efforts, access to the area, and safety for volunteers who will be entering the water. Hui O Ka Wai Ola is collaborating closely with government officials and community members to safely and ethically enter coastal waters to collect samples inside and outside of the restricted area.”

Since Aug. 14, staff and volunteers have continuously collected samples and tested them for temperature, pH, salinity and dissolved oxygen, which are currently showing normal ranges.

HOKWO is collaborating with the Surfrider Blue Water Task Force to test West Maui waters for the presence of Enterococcus, a bacteria known for causing swimming-associated gastrointestinal illness. Findings from this study can be found on the Surfrider website at maui.surfrider.org/bwtf.

Most recently, HOKWO collected samples from the Lāhainā sites to test for the presence of heavy metals, volatile organic compounds and semi-volatile organic compounds in collaboration with research partners. While the organization seeks to rebuild its West Maui lab, the processing of water samples is being done by HOKWO’s partner organizations with findings yet to be released. All previous HOKWO data can be found at https://www.huiokawaiola.com/findings.html.

For more information, or to donate to rebuilding HOKWO’s West Maui lab, visit https://www.huiokawaiola.com.

Hui O Ka Wai Ola is a partnership of The Nature Conservancy, Maui Nui Marine Resource Council and West Maui Ridge to Reef Initiative.