Decline in West Maui water supply means new housing projects will have to wait

LAHAINA — On the sloping hillside near the Kapalua Airport, the windswept land is ready for the first phase of a 1,000-unit housing project called Pulelehua, just six miles from Lahaina town where a wildfire decimated more than 1,500 homes and residential complexes in 2023.

The dirt is graded. Retaining walls are up. Two wells have been drilled. And, the project has the promise of $33 million in funding from Maui County. But Pulelehua developer Paul Cheng can’t move forward until he gets state approval to either use his wells or another water source. 

“You’ve got the whole town of Lahaina that’s gone, and the people have no place to stay,” Cheng said. “And we’re sitting there … and can’t get started.”

The need for more water comes at a time of record-low streamflows around the island that are straining water resources, especially in West Maui where shortages and conservation requests are commonplace.

Maui County is hoping to bring a new well online in Kahana this summer to fill the gap in demand that was a problem before the fire. But the service will be limited to temporary housing for displaced residents and rebuilt homes, which means future projects with much-needed permanent housing will have to wait.

“If a source becomes available, then we can look at providing it to new uses like Pulelehua,” said John Stufflebean, the county’s director of water supply. “But until there’s a source available, we can’t say yes.”

If the county allocated water to Pulelehua and didn’t get additional sources, there wouldn’t be enough water for those rebuilding in Lahaina.

“We can’t have that,” Stufflebean said.

RECORD-LOW STREAM LEVELS

Before the fire, Cheng got permits to drill his wells. Together, they could supply several hundred thousand gallons per day, more than enough to cover the 75,000 gallons he needs to build the first phase of 240 affordable rental units that could house 700 to 1,000 people. The 304-acre master-planned development would include affordable and market-rate rentals, single-family lots, parks, trails, businesses and a school.

But both Cheng and the county are stuck in a new process created the year before the fires to manage water in West Maui. 

In 2022, the state water commission voted unanimously to designate aquifers in Lahaina as a Surface Water and Groundwater Management Area, requiring all existing and new users to acquire state permits. 

So far, the commission has received 148 applications — 95 for surface water uses and 53 for groundwater, staff said at a meeting in Lahaina on Monday.

The commission is focusing first on applications to use Honokōwai groundwater and Honokōhau surface water in areas north of Lahaina. It also is discussing tiers to prioritize and expedite public trust uses and affordable housing. Those are expected to be announced for public comment this summer. 

However, there’s no timeline for completing review of all permits, and one staff member said it could take years. 

Maui County’s water system can’t afford to wait.

In early March, Honokōhau Stream was flowing at about 5.5 million to 6 million gallons per day, down from the usual flow that time of year of 12 million to 13 million gallons per day, said Ayron Strauch, lead hydrologist for the commission. 

From Feb. 11 to March 6, water levels were so low there was only enough to keep in the streams, and not enough for the Mahinahina Water Treatment Plant that supplies areas north of Lahaina town.

“It’s worse than it’s ever been in terms of supply,” Stufflebean said.

Maui County has two primary water systems in West Maui, according to a department presentation on March 19. The north system includes four wells and the Mahinahina Water Treatment Plant, which turns water from Honokōhau Stream potable. The south system has four wells and the Lahaina Water Treatment Plant, which draws from Kahana Stream. 

Of the county’s daily water supply in West Maui, 94.3% is for domestic use, with the rest for industrial, municipal, agricultural, irrigation and military uses, according to commission data. 

In June 2022, when demand exceeded supply, the county declared a systemwide shortage and imposed restrictions for all customers. Then, on Aug. 8, 2023, the wildfire destroyed more than 2,200 structures in Lahaina, and demand plummeted. 

Since then, temporary housing projects have popped up across West Maui as residents rebuild their burned-down homes. Stufflebean said water from the Kahana well would only be used for temporary housing for a time. As Lahaina is rebuilt, the water will go back to pre-fire uses.

“Right now, the demand is down, but as people get permits and rebuild their houses, they’re going to need water again,” Stufflebean said. “At the same time, temporary housing will be phased out. So that water will go … essentially from temporary housing back to the people in Lahaina that are rebuilding.”

The department is considering multiple new water sources, starting with the Kahana well, which broke ground in June 2023. The county plans to develop another well in the Honokōwai aquifer in 2027, two wells in the Launiupoko aquifer in 2027 and 2028, and two wells in the Honolua aquifer in 2029. These would add up to 4 million gallons a day to the county’s West Maui system.  

Pre-fire, demand on the West Maui system was about 5.6 million gallons per day, but reliable capacity was only 4.7 million gallons per day, leaving a 0.9 million shortfall. If the Kahana well were to pump 16 hours a day, it would cover the shortfall exactly, the department said in March. 

The county applied for a state water permit in May 2024, but like many others, it’s stuck in the queue. The county is asking the commission to allow it to bring the well online while it waits for approvals.

SOLVE THE NEED NOW, OR IN THE FUTURE?

Kai Nishiki, a community advocate and supporter of Pulelehua, says she supports water for the rebuild but is concerned about only supplying water to temporary projects that are set to expire. One of the biggest projects, the 450-unit Ka La‘i Ola development, is slated to house up to 1,500 displaced residents for up to five years.

Once they have to move out and the federal program covering rent for displaced residents ends, there will be a need for housing all over again. 

“I fully support the Kahana well coming online and serving our community,” Nishiki said. “That’s wonderful, and it sounds good on paper. But if you ask, OK, so with that coming online … how many new affordable, permanent homes for West Maui folks is that going to create? And if the answer is zero, what’s the point?”

Nishiki has a personal stake in the debate — her three adult children all work in West Maui, and when their lease expired recently, they struggled to find housing.

“In West Maui, the foundation for recovery, the foundation for stability, is long-term, permanent affordable housing, which was largely destroyed in the fire,” Nishiki said.

Most water in West Maui, about 80%, is privately controlled, according to a bill proposed by state lawmakers that would require the state to acquire all West Maui water systems by eminent domain and hold it in trust for the county to manage. The bill was deferred in February and has seen no movement since.

That’s long been a frustration of community members who see inequalities between the frequent water shortages they’re asked to endure and the lush green golf courses and sparkling swimming pools at resorts and private estates. 

The county wants to put more of West Maui’s water under public control — the mayor’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year calls for $10 million to put toward acquiring private water companies. Stufflebean said the county is first looking at the private water systems servicing Launiupoko and Olowalu as well as in Hana.

Most of the county’s 2,182 West Maui users are residential. A total of 27 users, or 1.2%, are hotels, according to the county, and Stufflebean said they all use potable water for irrigation of their grounds and golf courses. The water department is in talks with wastewater officials to co-fund a pipeline to deliver non-potable water to those hotels.

Stufflebean said the county incentivizes users to conserve water by charging fees in tiers. The more water a customer uses, the higher rate they pay. Hotels pay “by far the highest rate.”

The department is holding meetings this month on a proposal to increase water conservation in all sectors, including irrigation, planting and landscape, commercial applications, water waste and new development. The bill is expected to come out in May.

When asked what could be done for Pulelehua, Stufflebean said, “apparently they went ahead with the project without having a secure source of water, so that’s kind of on them.”

Cheng said he did have water — the project had been planning to use the two wells and buy 1 million gallons per day from Maui Land and Pineapple Company, but “things got cluttered up” in the state’s permitting process.

“The objective is to provide housing for the community as soon as possible,” Cheng said. “So anything that we can work together to make it happen should be a good thing.”

‘WATER FOR GENERATIONS TO COME’

The water commission has only made an exemption for one project so far: the 50-unit Kapalua Village temporary housing project for displaced Kapalua Golf employees. The project broke ground in February 2024 and is exempt from getting a water permit until 2031, according to Ciara Kahahane, deputy director for water resource management.

The county’s Kahana well would be the second exemption if approved.

The commission is discussing a potential solution for Pulelehua. But even if the project gets the green light now, there’s no guarantee it would get a water permit in the end. 

“We have the ability to make exceptions … but we’re very hesitant to do that for new projects that are going to require additional capacity to be on the system,” Kahahane said. “Especially because Maui Department of Water Supply is already having these capacity issues, and there’s a significant number of people in the community who don’t believe that new construction should go forward before we’ve looked at the sustainable yields (of the aquifers) again.” 

When asked how limited water needs could be balanced between temporary and future housing, Kahahane pointed to three primary solutions:

• More groundwater sources and spreading out well pumpage throughout the aquifer
• More reservoirs and storage tanks to capture water during high rainfall
• Increased use of alternate sources such as recycled water or desalination. 

Kahahane said she is just a staff member, and the decision is ultimately up to the commission, “but we really need to look at whether the demands that are currently on the system are reasonable. … How much lush green landscaping is reasonable to have on the dry side of Maui island, which has been in severe drought?”

Kahahane said while most of the water is held by private companies, “they’re quite beholden to what the state says,” especially now that West Maui is a water management area. 

“The existing uses are continuing, but they’re not going to continue forever,” Kahahane said. “If we issue them a water permit and they violate the permit requirements by taking more water than they’re permitted … then we will have to enforce against them. And that could mean fines, or it could mean an injunction.” 

Commission staff are working to determine what percentage of West Maui water is used by the community and by the hotels as they go through permit applications, some of which cover hundreds of parcels, Kahahane said.  

Jonathan Scheuer, co-author of the book “Water and Power in West Maui,” pointed out that when the water commission issues permits, especially for new developments, “the assumption is those will be homes for generations to come.”

“So we better only issue new uses if we know that there’s going to be water for generations to come,” said Scheuer, a former state land commissioner who serves on the East Maui Regional Community Board but spoke as a private individual.

Scheuer said the fire brought greater public attention to the way water is managed and how it affects the community’s vulnerability to fire and priorities for development. It’s also made people more aware of the ongoing decline in water resources.

“Hopefully,” he said, “it leads to much wiser decisions.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: This story contains a correction clarifying that there are 27 hotels in West Maui on Maui County’s water system, or 1.2% of the county’s customers in the area. An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the percentage based on information provided to the Hawai’i Journalism Initiative.