Mayor: Additional Water Allocation to be Reserved for Development of Affordable Rentals, Attainable Workforce Housing

Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino today announced his decision to reserve the balance of available water recently allocated to the County’s Department of Water by the Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management to develop affordable rental units and attainable workforce homes for residents in Central and South Maui.

The commission endorsed the County of Maui’s existing use permit for 1.784 million gallons of water per day, plus ratified a new use permit for 1.416 million gallons per day.

“I am prioritizing our resident workforce as the first beneficiaries of this water to motivate construction of right-priced housing as soon as possible,” explained Mayor Victorino. “I want those who are most deserving, the very people who built this community, to benefit from the Commission’s recent order to increase the County’s Central Maui Water system’s maximum reliable capacity to 3.2 million gallons per day.”

The mayor says his decision is expected to incentivize developers to build more units sooner by offering greater certainty to those seeking to build affordable rentals and attainable workforce housing. 

On June 28, 2021, the Hawai‘i Commission on Water Resource Management issued a decision and order in the Nā Wai ʻEha contested case over the use of water from four major Central Maui streams.