East Maui Authority scheduled for community discussions, June 16-18

Maui residents are invited to join a conversation with water resource and finance experts to help shape a sustainable, equitable and community-led future for East Maui’s watershed, according to an announcement.

The Kula Community Association, Haʻikū Community Association and wikiwai.org are supporting the East Maui Water Authority and its community board, the ‘Aha Wai O Maui Hikina, along with the Public Finance Initiative, in hosting interactive community discussions throughout the island to give stakeholders a seat at the watershed planning table.

The three-day series of community conversations will provide options for the people to attend one of the opportunities closest to them. Day one will begin with a guided tour and listening session with the Ke’anae-Wailuanui community, whose members have long advocated for equitable water access and protection of their subsistence and cultural practices.

“Balance and fairness among users, avoiding negative impacts to East Maui streams, rivers, and environment are the number one concerns of our community,” taro farmer Ed Wendt said.

When Maui County voted to create new water management entities in November 2022, the goal behind the proposal was to give local communities more oversight of Maui’s most precious natural resource. That vote led to the formation of the East Maui Water Authority or ‘Aha Wai O Maui Hikina.

“This is a great opportunity to hear about the history of water issues directly from residents and to ultimately share those experiences among the different stakeholders,” said Scott Werden, one of the designers of wikiwai.org. “This event aligns with the goals of wikiwai.org, a one-stop water portal to keep track of the meetings, status, and all the various documents that are important to understanding a community’s water issues.”

The wikiwai.org project is sponsored by Sierra Club and has been launched with an initial focus on Maui Hikina (East Maui) but expects to be a resource for all of Maui.

Wailuanui residents Ed and Mahealani Wendt will share the historical context of the lease area dewatering before opening the floor for community members to share their manaʻo about the future of East Mauiʻs watershed. Community conversations will continue in Kula and Haʻikū. The goal of hosting multiple meetings is to provide a foundation for affected communities to support each other in caring for the watershed.

“Upcountry, Kula in particular, has been a community at odds with our water resources,” said Jordan Hocker, president of the Kula Community Association. “Whether it’s our community being the first one asked to conserve in drought conditions, the water meter waiting list or prolonged outages, we have both a source and infrastructure issue.”

“We’re working with the East Maui Water Authority because the community should be central in articulating water needs and solutions,” she said. “The old ways haven’t worked, so we’re showing up with a renewed sense of self-determination. The Kula Community Association views this partnership as a step in the right direction.” 

Community conversations will be hosted in:

• Ke’anae (June 16, 4 p.m.)
• Kula (June 17, 6:30 p.m.)
• Haʻikū (June 18, 6:30 p.m.)

Through interactive exercises and small group sessions, community members will share their experiences and concerns, set priorities for watershed management, and help define the mission, vision, and values for future planning. These meetings will also highlight lessons from national and global water management, indigenous rights, and sustainable stewardship, while capturing community perspectives to inform future policy.

In addition to the community-focused meetings, on June 17 at 11 a.m., a hybrid water finance panel will be held at the Maui County Planning Department in Wailuku. The in-person and virtual meeting  will spotlight innovative public finance tools and funding strategies for public good projects. Experts from the Public Finance Initiative will guide attendees through options for financing watershed improvements, water infrastructure, and climate resilience projects, emphasizing the importance of community-driven priorities and alternative funding sources. This meeting will be both in-person and virtual.

“For so long community input has been reserved to three-minute testimony at a county or state meeting. These conversations – taking place in affected communities – provide a new forum to have a discussion about water,” said Lilia Davis, a Haʻikū resident and graduate student in Environmental Studies at University of Hawaiʻi at Manoa, and Haʻikū Community Association volunteer. “This effort to gain local control of our most precious resource is an opportunity for residents to set the priorities for how we move forward in this new water future together.”