Hawaii First Water

Researchers reveal cost-effective path to drought resiliency

July 2016

(Kobayashi Comment:  This intriguing Stanford study may offer an answer to Hawaii’s future freshwater shortages…  Imagine routing Hawaii’s torrents of stormwater into the ground aquifers instead of washing brown water pollution onto our beaches and recreation areas…)

Strained by drought in recent years, California desperately needs more resilient water supplies. An affordable solution that provides a wide range of benefits is within reach, according to a new Stanford study.

“We find that MAR is an effective and affordable way to balance local groundwater decisions with regional and statewide management,” said study co-author Debra Perrone, a postdoctoral scholar with Stanford’s Water in the West program.

Many local communities rely on statewide infrastructure to supplement their water supply. This water is costly and limited in supply, raising a need for cost-effective local storage options.

Managed aquifer recharge allows for local water storage, access and management to a much greater extent than large surface water reservoirs, which are often managed by state and federal entities. Although excess surface water can be limited in some regions of California, treated wastewater and urban stormwater offer sources for MAR that aren’t fully utilized by centralized surface water storage infrastructure.

MAR is particularly well suited to more populous and developed areas that can take advantage of large quantities of treated wastewater and stormwater runoff collected by extensive infrastructure for use in recharge. In more rural areas, MAR using excess surface water can still play an important role in replenishing groundwater basins and guarding against dry times.

“Every year, California lets 1 million acre-feet of treated wastewater flow to the ocean,” said co-author Melissa Rohde, previously a researcher with Water in the West. “Our research shows it would cost the state about $870 million to build the necessary MAR facilities to recover and store this water. That’s not a lot of money compared to the cost and energy required to transport water from large surface water projects or to desalinate ocean water.”

A water enigma

Groundwater supplies up to 60 percent of California’s water supply during dry years. Despite its crucial role in slaking the Golden State’s thirst, groundwater went largely unregulated until the 2014 passage of the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act. Therefore, statewide data on groundwater management generally and managed aquifer recharge projects specifically has been sparse or proprietary, generally not shared publicly.

This lack of information was highlighted with the 2015 passage of California’s largest-ever water-related proposition — the $7.5 billion Proposition 1. The bond promises almost $3 billion for water storage projects. Without data on relative costs and benefits, state and local water managers are hard pressed to make informed decisions on MAR projects.

In addition to new funding opportunities, the 2014 law puts the burden on local agencies for sustainably managing groundwater. So, local communities have more reason than ever to bank water sustainably. Managed aquifer recharge allows agencies to do that in ways tailored to a community’s resources.

Perrone and Rohde set out to identify costs and benefits of MAR projects around the state by mining applications for general obligation bonds from ballot propositions. In these publicly available forms, the researchers identified proposed economic costs and anticipated MAR project benefits. Then, they surveyed the projects’ managers to compare initial estimates with actual costs, and to identify advantages and limitations.

Looking to the future

As a changing climate, growing population and other factors put increasing pressures on water supplies, California’s need for long-term resilience will only intensify, the study noted. Conservation will only go so far. Flexible water storage options that can address changing conditions are essential. Therefore, it is likely that more water agencies will adopt MAR as a local management tool.

Story Source:

The above post is reprinted from materials provided by Stanford University. The original item was written by Rob Jordan. Note: Materials may be edited for content and length.

Journal Reference:

  1. Perrone, Debra; & Merri Rohde, Melissa. Benefits and Economic Costs of Managed Aquifer Recharge in California. San Francisco Estuary and Watershed Science, July 2016

Protests Don’t Overcome East Maui Water Diversion Bill

 

On Tuesday, there was the usual chanting, music and blowing of conch shells in the Rotunda. But it did not last long, and it wasn’t as intense as during other rallies. The protesters seemed to know the shape of things to come and were already focused on the next battle.

As the Senate neared voting on House Bill 2501 Tuesday, the water-rights bill that will allow Alexander & Baldwin to divert water from East Maui streams for three more years, the protesters gradually took seats in the gallery. By the time the final vote came, they stood, arms extended with fisted hands.

The vote was 17 to 8 in favor, with five of the “ayes” cast with reservations, meaning they weren’t crazy about their votes. HB 2501 cleared the House of Representatives last week, where some lawmakers also expressed their worries about the bill, which now heads to Gov. David Ige for his consideration.

See the rest of the article here

Warming up: As droughts continue, Hawaii must protect its freshwater

(April 2016, Editor Comment:  This is a timely and well presented editorial by Senator Gabbard and Rep. Yamane of the problems facing the island’s fresh water future.   We applaud the legislature’s 2015 water bills and look forward to the new session’s legislation.  The new bills must begin to address both conservation and reuse on the islands to get ahead of future scarcities.)
Honolulu Star Advertiser – March 27, 2016
By: Sen. Mike Gabbard and Rep. Ryan Yamane

Last October, after an unseasonable and unprecedented rainy summer, the U.S. Drought Monitor declared that for the first time since April 15, 2008 no part of our island chain was suffering from drought.

For seven long years, our farmers, ranchers and citizens had endured a prolonged dry period throughout Hawaii that caused cattle herds to be thinned, crops to suffer and spiked our rate of forest fires. Unfortunately, our relief was short-lived.

Today, just five months later, 54 percent of our island area is again locked in “moderate drought” and 100 percent of our islands are “abnormally dry.” As we live through one of the largest El Niño events on record, our islands may get even drier through 2016.

Why is this happening now? Long-term climate change trends seem to be bringing drought to Hawaii more frequently. Over the past 30 years as temperatures have risen, our average annual rainfall amount has fallen by a staggering 22 percent. Our beloved tradewind days have declined by 28 percent — from an average of 291 trade wind days in 1973 to only 210 in 2009. And when we do get rain, increasingly it tends to come in large — even epic — events where several inches may fall in just a few hours, causing stormwater runoff instead of the soft, gentle rains that slowly seep into the soil and our precious island aquifers for later use.

The Legislature understands that water is the lifeblood of our society, and long-term fresh water security is a key element to our economic health and our unique quality of life. Even as we address critical issues such as homelessness and health care this session, we acknowledge the need to work proactively to protect our fresh water supply.

We have watched the sobering experience of California as it suffered through $2.74 billion in damage to its economy in 2015 alone as a result of the ongoing drought and water supply problems — and the clear lesson is that a few ounces of prevention are far better than many tons of cure. We are moving to preserve our supply of the best drinking water in the world with innovative new solutions and policies.
Last year in 2015, the Legislature passed several key bills signed by Gov. David Ige that will help enable water infrastructure upgrades, encourage water recycling at state facilities, and capture stormwater runoff before it enters our oceans.

This legislative session we are building on this foundation with another comprehensive package of fresh water bills that will decrease water system leaks (House Bill 2041); foster public-private partnerships to reuse, conserve and recharge our water (House Bills 2029 and 2040); commit to statewide water reuse and recycling (House Bill 1749); improve storm water retention and capture (House Bill 1750); and provide incentives to residents who adopt water-saving devices in their homes (House Bill 2042).

In concert with these policy changes, the independent, nonprofit Hawai‘i Community Foundation recently released a report from a blue-ribbon commission that said to ensure water security, Hawaii must secure 100 million gallons a day in additional, reliable fresh water supply by 2030 even as less rain falls on our Islands.

We have embraced this challenge and will continue to improve our water policies in ways that move us toward this shared statewide goal.

While these policy changes are an important start, all of us need to work together planting trees, turning off the tap, and — most importantly — teaching our keiki the value of wai in order to truly protect our shared water future.

Ka‘u farmers fear loss of water permits

March 2016: By IVY ASHE Hawaii Tribune-Herald

HILO — Farmers and ranchers in the Ka‘u District (Big Island) concerned about statewide impacts of a recent court decision regarding East Maui water rights are hoping a piece of legislation can serve as a temporary solution.

House Bill 2501 amends a section of Hawaii Revised Statutes to allow revocable water use permits to be extended for a holdover period if the user in question is in the process of applying for a long-term lease.

Revocable permits for both land and water use are issued on a month-to-month basis by the Board of Land and Natural Resources. There are nine such water permits in the state, said Randy Cabral, board president of the Hawaii Farm Bureau and a Ka‘u farmer. Five of those permits are in Ka‘u.

There are also revocable permits held by Alexander & Baldwin Inc. for land on Maui used by sugar subsidiary Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co. Those permits, and BLNR’s continued issuance of them, were challenged in court last year by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. on behalf of a group of Maui taro farmers, fishermen and cultural practitioners seeking access to the stream system that feeds the 36,000 acres owned by HC&S.

Legal challenges to the water diversions used by HC&S began in mid-1980s, according to The Maui News.

In January, First Circuit Court Judge Rhonda Nishimura granted the plaintiffs’ motion for partial summary judgment in the case, writing that although Hawaii Revised Statutes authorized temporary occupation of public lands, “A&Bs’s continuous uninterrupted use of these public lands on a holdover basis … is not the ‘temporary’ use that HRS Chapter 171 envisions. … Such a prospect is inconsistent with the public interest and legislative interest.”

The decision has since been appealed.

Many Ka‘u farmers, who have been in the process of converting their revocable permits to a long-term lease issued through the state Department of Agriculture’s Agribusiness Development Corporation for about a decade, viewed the ruling with concern because the language could be interpreted to mean all revocable permits, not just those held by A&B.

“Without that water, should the BLNR say, ‘No, the permits are no longer valid, you can no longer take water,’ it would be devastating,” Cabral said. “Everybody seems to think it only affects (A&B).”

“If the state doesn’t support these revocable permits, then I have no more water,” said Lani Petrie, owner of Kapapala Ranch, estimating that she had between four and six months’ water supply in reservoirs but no sources beyond that. Petrie and Michelle Galimba, owner of Kuahiwi Ranch, traveled to Oahu to testify during committee hearings for the bill.

See the article here

Stop SB3001 and Restore Public Streams on Maui

Feb 2016:  Sierra Club of Hawaii highlights this important issue.

 

Please take action to stop SB3001/HB2501 and help restore the water to the East Maui streams.

Show up at the public hearing at the Hawai‘i State Capitol on Feb. 10th 3:30PM in room 224.

Sierra Club of Hawai‘i is standing up for the protection of our native ecosystem and the rights of traditional taro farmers to the public water in our streams.  For decades, Alexander & Baldwin has diverted public water from streams in East Maui without proper authority, an environmental impact statement, or mitigation for the harm it has caused to Hawaiian farmers and native resources.
What does SB3001 do?

SB3001/HB2501 propose to legitimize the historic theft of millions of gallons of public water from the streams of East Maui by changing  Hawai‘i Revised Statute 171 to allow for “hold-over” permits.  This would allow the Department of Land and Natural Resources to perpetually renew short-term permits for the use of 33,000 acres of public land without proper consideration and mitigation of the harms it causes to our unique natural environment and cultural practices.

Why is SB3001 bad?

For many reasons:

  1. Because it would allow one big corporation to waste millions of gallons of freshwater every day, while the streams run dry and Hawaiian farmers are starved from their land.
  2. It circumvents the established process for requesting access to public water.
  3. It rewards A&B for manipulating the permitting system for years.
  4. It contradicts longstanding public policies in place to protect streams, freshwater, traditional farming practices, and our imperiled natural environment.

Who is taking the public’s water?

Alexander & Baldwin (A&B), which owns Hawaii Commercial & Sugar Company (HC&S) and East Maui Irrigation (EMI), was founded in Hawaii in 1870 by the descendants of missionaries as a sugar plantation. Now that sugar no longer makes significant profits, the company has evolved into a commercial real estate developer.  At one point, it was one of the largest landowners and employers in Hawai‘i.  Because of this “too big to fail” status, A&B got a lot of special treatment over the years… like access to the public’s water for cheap.

Does A&B need all the water that they take from the stream?

No. A&B is a water hog.  The current recommendation before the Water Commission for the instream flow standards for the East Maui streams concludes that A&B has diverted and wasted around 35 million gallons of water every day for decades — they simply do not need all the water they are taking. They are hogging the public’s water for their own potential benefit, and harming the health of our people and our environment at the same time.

If we restore the water to the stream, will A&B be without any water?

No. A&B has plenty of water. Without the current “hold over permits,” A&B  still has at least 20 million gallons per day of water from Na Wai Eha, and over 80 million gallons of water a day from private sources they control. With reduced water demands from the planned phase out of sugar, namely, reducing their acreage in cultivation from 28,900 to 16,000 A&B/HC&S will need much less than the 126 million gallons a day of water they claim now. So, no, they are not without water.

What about the workers? If water is restored to the streams, will people be unemployed?

No. HC&S is closing and laying off its workforce because the company cannot compete with cheaper sugar grown in other parts of the world. Restoring water to the streams is not the reason there are no local jobs in sugar.

There are opportunities to create new jobs in diversified agriculture. The closing of HC&S opens up the opportunity for new kinds of agriculture to take root in Maui.  Diversified agriculture — lots of small farms growing a wide variety of products — is the best course of action for the future of agriculture in Hawai‘i.  And, as water is restored to the streams there will be more opportunities for people who have lived along the streams for generations to return to traditional farming, if they would like to.

The main thing that must be done when deciding how to allocate water resources is to make sure there is a balance between the needs of the stream ecosystem, the taro farmers, and the other forms of agricultural uses.  That is where the Commission on Water Resource Management comes in and why an Environmental Impact Statement is so important.

Why is this happening now?

People are pushing back on the historic abuse of public water supplies. Water in Hawai‘i is and always has been a public trust resource.  It is not owned by anyone, and is everyone’s responsibility. Over the years, Hawai‘i has established laws guaranteeing the streams will flow to the ocean, everyone will have access to water, and no water will be wasted.  Unfortunately, these laws have not been fairly enforced. State agencies and lawmakers have allowed major corporations with long histories in the islands to take the public’s water without following the legal process for permits and leases. This is changing thanks to the work of local residents advocating for the protection of their water and perpetuation of their cultural practices.

What is the process for getting access to public water for, say, agricultural uses?

The Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management is an agency in the Department of Land and Natural Resources that reviews requests for the use of public water.  Their decisions must balance the needs of the natural ecosystem, the traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiians, and the residential and commercial consumers of water.

How did A&B get access to the public’s water in the first place?

Since the early days of sugar plantations in Hawai‘i, A&B/EMI/HC&S has taken millions of gallons of water every day from the East Maui streams without consideration for the harm to the ecosystem or proper compensation to other water users, like traditional taro farmers. In the early 2000’s A&B sought a 30 year lease for thousands of acres of public trust land and permits to continue diversion of unlimited amounts of public water.

A&B leases were challenged by East Maui residents who were legally entitled to adequate water resources in their streams and taro patches, but  A&B/ EMI/ HC&S still got to divert unlimited water,  through the form of month-to-month revocable permits given to them by the Department of Land and Natural Resources, paying a total of $160,000 a year to “transport” nearly 60 billion gallons. These permits are summarily renewed every year — no environmental impact statement, no mitigation for the harm to the ecosystem or the taro farmers, no public auction.  The law does not technically allow for this practice that is now known as “hold over permits.” The Department of Land and Natural Resources invented this concept on its own for the exclusive benefit of A&B and its subsidiaries.  That is why A&B is before the Legislature now asking them to retroactively legalize this concept, so that they can continue to steal the water from East Maui farmers and the native ecosystem with impunity.

With the close of sugar plantations and the resolution of decades-long litigation, water is being restored to the streams. A&B, however, is making a last ditch attempt to continue to take the public’s water without following the established process.  Don’t let A&B steal our future. Submit testimony in opposition to SB3001.

 

(Kailua Kona) Keauhou aquifer resolution could be a long time coming

20 Jan 2016.

By Bret Yager West Hawaii Today byager@westhawaiitoday.com

Don’t hold your breath.

The last major decision on whether control of the water should be placed in state hands happened last August. That was when the state Commission on Water Resource Management declined a National Park Service request to create a smaller water use management area within the larger aquifer.

Since then, the war over water has gone quiet.

Peter Young — a former chairman of the state Board of Land and Natural Resources who is now a consultant opposing the designation — said that no news in good news.

“It’s not over, which is relatively good, because in the beginning there was a push to get it done fast,” Young said at a meeting last week in Kailua-Kona.

Jonathan Scheuer, a consultant for NPS on the aquifer designation, said on Tuesday that it took nearly 20 years for the Iao aquifer on Maui to be designated a state water management area. The designation places control of pumping and permits in the hands of CWRM rather than the county departments of water supply.

See the rest of the article here

Perishing of Thirst in a Pacific Paradise: Long before the Marshall Islands disappear under rising seas, finding freshwater will become the most urgent consequence of climate change.

Jan 2016. By Peter Mellgard, The World Post.  Huffpost.

 

MAJURO, Marshall Islands — A few yards from the crashing waves of the Pacific, on a precariously narrow strip of land, precious rainwater pools on the runway of the Marshall Islands’ main airport. This is how the government hydrates tens of thousands of its citizens: the rainwater runoff from the airstrip. The water — complete with bird droppings and whatever else has landed on the tarmac — is funneled via pipes to earthen storage reservoirs. From there, it gets filtered and treated and pumped to people down the atoll.

During a normal week the water only flows for 12 hours. In prolonged droughts, which are almost certain to happen in 2016, the reservoirs can get depleted to the last drop. The country can hold on for only a few months without rain. Thirsty Marshallese, many of whom rely on their own much smaller rainwater catchment containers, won’t have anything to drink or wash with. Dehydration, starvation, malnutrition and disease have been known to follow. Crops fail. Sensitive groundwater reservoirs become contaminated.

This is a bleak outlook for a vulnerable country in the remote Pacific, halfway between Hawaii and Australia. The Marshall Islands are a heavenly chain of white sandy beaches and coral reefs, but they are paradoxically one of the most inhospitable and challenging places to build a nation. Climate change will have numerous, complicated effects here. Access to freshwater, already in limited supply on the archipelago, is likely to become the most serious issue.

The rest of the article is here…

 

The Second Conference on Water Resource Sustainability Issues on Tropical Islands

December 1 – 3, 2015 | Hilton Hawaiian Village | Honolulu, Hawaii

Presented By

Water Resources Research Center (WRRC), Hawaii and American Samoa
Water and Environmental Research Institute (WERI), Guam
Puerto Rico Water Resources and Environmental Research Institute (PRWRERI), Puerto Rico
The Virgin Islands Water Resources Research Institute (VI-WRRI), U. S. Virgin Islands
University of Hawaii Sea Grant College Program
University of Hawaii Department of Geology and Geophysics
USGS Pacific Islands Water Science Center (PIWSC), Honolulu, Hawaii
National Institutes for Water Resources (NIWR)
United States Geological Survey (USGS)

The 2015 conference will build on discussions and interactions from a previous conference hosted by the four Island Institutes (WRRC, WERI, PRWRERI, and VI-WRRI) in Honolulu, Hawaii from November 14–16, 2011. The intention of these discussions is to strengthen the synergism between researchers working in the State of Hawaii, U.S. affiliated islands in the Pacific, U.S. Virgin islands, and Puerto Rico, and to develop solutions and ideas on water resources issues that are particularly relevant to tropical islands.

See the link here to register…

Flowing waters…

Hawaii Magazine Article, 7 Sept,

By Catherine Toth Fox,

When Dr. Craig China purchased a vacant lot in Nuuanu Valley in 1999, he was surprised to find he’d also bought a little-known, little-seen remnant of Oahu history, too. The deed to China’s 12,000-square-foot property indicated that he was now responsible for the upkeep of its portion of the Nuuanu auwai, early Hawaiian irrigation canals that once flowed into an extensive network of loi kalo (terraced taro fields) blanketing the lush, residential valley neighboring urban Honolulu. The auwai coursed through his property and down the road, emptying into Nuuanu Stream, the valley’s principal stream.

“I’d wanted something unique, and this water feature was it,” says the 56-year-old geriatrician, as we walk the ‘auwai, now filled with colorful koi and lined with rocks, running across his front yard. “It brings people back to the old days, how ancient waterways can mix with modern development within a harmonious environment. It really defines Nuuanu.”

Read the rest of this wonderful article on the early Hawaii irrigation ditches ‘auwai in Nuuanu Valley here.