Open House on Watershed Planning in West Maui

Makāluapuna Point at Honokahua. File photo by Wendy Osher.

An open house will be held on Wednesday, Nov. 18, to share results and gather public input on the Draft Strategies and Implementation Report for the West Maui watersheds of Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua.

The meeting, hosted by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the US Army Corps of Engineers, will run from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at the Kaunoa Senior Center on Pauoa Street in Lahaina.

The open house will also include presentations on recent research, and information and exhibits from agencies and organizations working in the watersheds.

The Draft Strategies and Implementation Report for Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua watersheds is a follow-on report to the Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua Watersheds Draft Watershed Characterization Report released last year.

Previous reports also include a Watershed Characterization and a Strategies and Implementation Plan for Wahikuli and Honokōwai watersheds sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

All of these reports will be integrated into a comprehensive five watershed West Maui Watershed Plan sponsored by the DLNR and USACE.

State officials say the West Maui Watershed Plan is a multi-agency effort that will propose a recommended strategy to address land-based sources of pollutants that adversely affect water quality and the health of coral reef ecosystems off shore of the five West Maui watersheds.

The effort is part of the “West Maui Ridge 2 Reef Initiative.” More information and the draft reports can be found at the initiative website.