Maui to receive $15.6M grant to expand Lahaina recycled wastewater facilities

The US Department of the Interior has awarded the Maui County Department of Environmental Management a $15.6 million grant for recycled wastewater facilities in Lahaina, according to an announcement.

The funding will enable the department to increase its recycled wastewater capacity in West Maui. Upon completion of the project, 3,472 acre-feet per year of recycled water will be available for non-potable water needs, such as landscape irrigation and agriculture. The increased capacity will also supplement increases in future demand.

The project will improve water quality and enhance reliability of water supplies and water supply infrastructure in an area where water resource availability has been strained in the wake of the 2023 Lahaina wildfire. Funding will be used for planning, design, and construction of an effluent pump station, storage tanks, transmission lines, service lines, distribution lines and other improvements to the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility.

The funding is part of $223 million made available to eight states through President Joe Biden’s “Investing in America” agenda for water recycling and desalination projects aimed at reducing the impacts of drought. The money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and annual appropriations is being awarded to 18 projects in eight states through the Title XVI Water Reclamation and Reuse and Desalination Programs.

Combined, the projects are expected to yield 305,936 acre-feet of recycled water annually.