West Maui Watershed Planning Meeting, Nov. 20

Brown water at Honokahua. Photo courtesy State Department of Health.

By Maui Now Staff

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers will host a workshop in Lahaina on Thursday, Nov. 20, to share results of the Draft Watershed Characterization Study for the West Maui watersheds of Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua.

The workshop will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and will be held at the Kaunoa Senior Center on Pauoa Street.

The study is the first of a two-volume plan sponsored by the agencies, that aims to propose management measures to assist in mitigating land-based sources of pollutants that adversely affect water quality, and the health of the coral reef ecosystem in all three watersheds.

The workshop will include a presentation on findings from the study and information booths to gather public input and answer questions on the report. Recently implemented projects from the previously completed Wahikuli-Honokōwai Watershed Management Plan will also be shared at the workshop.

The Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua Watershed Management Plan and the previously published Wahikuli-Honokōwai Watershed Management Plan are part of the larger West Maui Ridge 2 Reef Initiative focusing management efforts across all five watersheds.

The Watershed Management Plans focus on short term solutions and will be incorporated into a West Maui Watershed Plan that proposes a recommended strategy to address long-term impacts to the coral reef ecosystem health.