#Department of Water Supply

The Maui County Council’s Water and Infrastructure Committee voted 7-0 Monday to recommend passage of Bill 97 (2026), which would authorize the county Department of Water Supply to enter into an agreement with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands to develop three new groundwater wells in Waiʻōhuli and a transmission system to serve homestead housing for Native Hawaiians. The bill now moves to the full Council for further consideration.

Maui County Council members authorized the Department of Water Supply Tuesday to spend up to $6 million to acquire two privately owned West Maui water systems. But the vote came only after more than 15 minutes of discussion to clarify what Council Vice Chair Yuki Lei Sugimura meant when she said the deal provided only “part of the story, but not all.”

After a severe electrical issue caused a well outage Sunday, Aug. 23, 2026, Department of Water Supply (DWS) water service gradually returned to affected areas of Haʻikū and surrounding communities beginning Monday afternoon.

The Department of Water Supply is asking those in the West Kuiaha and Awalau areas to continue conserving water because a well is currently out of service. Those in the affected areas may experience low water pressure or water outages while DWS crews work to restore service.

Desalination plants, which the county hopes could create more potable water for Central, South and West Maui, could cost anywhere from $119 million to $328 million.

In Upcountry, a massive number of downed trees along Olinda and Piʻiholo roads have caused waterline breaks in multiple locations and blocked access to water treatment facilities. Access to the facilities has since been restored, but crews continue to work through the extensive debris and damage.

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday unanimously rejected a proposal to put a 30-year East Maui commercial water license up for public auction, while separately voting to advance a court-ordered contested-case hearing over revocable permits held by Mahi Pono and East Maui Irrigation Co.

The County of Maui Department of Water Supply (DWS) is advising residents and visitors in West Maui to conserve water until power is fully restored following Tropical Storm Lala.

A Maui County Council committee voted 7-1 Tuesday to recommend adoption of a resolution authorizing the county to spend up to $6 million to acquire two privately owned West Maui water systems.

The Maui County Council’s Water and Infrastructure Committee agreed Monday to return a revised subdivision bill to the Board of Water Supply for further review. The move came after committee members and testifiers questioned whether the measure changes anything the Department of Water Supply can’t already do on its own.

Routine water quality testing identified trace levels of selenium for the first time in the County of Maui Department of Water Supply’s Makawao water system. The levels detected in the Makawao water system are well below the drinking water standard.

The report identified two key findings: inadequate anti-fraud controls and the absence of a countywide fraud complaint process. The study found $21 million in “direct pay” transactions by the Department of Water Supply that bypass standard procurement. The upcoming 2027 Audit Plan also includes a review of private jet travel provided to county employees.

New water rate fees for fiscal 2027 will go into effect on July 1, according to the Maui County Department of Water Supply. “While water rates are increasing, most residential customers will see only a modest change in their monthly bill—about 1 to 2 percent on average,” Department of Water Supply Director John Stufflebean said. […]

The Maui County Department of Water Supply has published its 2026 Water Quality Report, which is available online for public review at at www.mauicounty.gov/247/Water-Quality-Report. The report summarizes drinking water quality testing results collected from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31, 2025.

Maui Kupono Builders in conjunction with the County Department of Water Supply will perform work on the County’s water system as part of the Makawao Avenue pavement reconstruction project.

A mixed-use development proposed for 40 acres of former sugarcane land near Pāʻia won committee approval Wednesday, moving a project that would bring up to 170 homes, commercial businesses, a medical clinic and a public parking lot to the next stage of a years-long entitlement process.

The Maui County Council’s Water and Infrastructure Committee deferred action Monday on a proposed overnight parking ban on three industrial area streets in Kahului after hearing community concerns about its impact on homeless people living out of their cars and the need for safer alternatives.

The Maui County Department of Water Supply is proposing a 2-million-gallon drinking water storage tank in central Kīhei to improve system reliability, and officials are now accepting public comments on the project. The draft environmental assessment reports that the new tank will not increase water source or transmission capacity. The tank site is currently pastureland […]

Maui County Council Member Kauanoe Batangan has proposed an across-the-board 1.25% budget cut for non-first-responder departments that would yield somewhat more than $5 million in savings from Mayor Richard Bissen’s fiscal 2027 $1.61 billion budget proposal.

With another storm system bearing down on the Hawaiian Islands, the Maui County Council’s Budget, Finance and Economic Development Committee focused its fiscal year 2027 review Wednesday on addressing emergency resilience and the future of the island’s water infrastructure.