#water

A Brown Water Advisory has been issued at Hanakaʻōʻō Beach Park on Maui.

The two sides have reached a tentative agreement, but a price still needs to be negotiated and the council must approve it, with the chair saying it’s “not a done deal.”

Olowalu Water Company wants to increase annual revenues by 325%, which residents say would make it nearly impossible to afford water for farming.

Maui County officials issued a final environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for a $6 million project to install 5,800 feet of sewer lines and replace aging waterlines for approximately 100 lots in Waikapū.

Community members see the golf course’s plan as a way to “throw money at the problem” as disputes over water use continue.

The proposal comes at a time when Maui County is hoping to one day take over the private system used to divert streams in East Maui.

Hawai’i Water Service says it’s losing money at current rates, which have been in place for 17 years, and has spent nearly $33 million to improve the Kapalua system since 2021.

The warning is in effect until 6 a.m. Sunday (Jan. 25) for most eastern, southeastern, southern and interior portions of the island; Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense reports portion of Highway 11 in Puna and Kaʻū as well as Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park are closed because of ashfall.

The state Commission on Water Resource Management gave the company a chance to offset the fine by making improvements to its water system in Honokōhau Valley.

The water commission has yet to approve any of the more than 140 permit applications for water use in West Maui that were filed two years ago shortly before the Lahaina fire.

The environmental law firm claims the golf courses unlawfully used millions of gallons of potable water to irrigate their greens, and that the state water commission chair knew about it.

The state water commission is trying to decide who should get permits to use water in West Maui, with 93 existing use permits and 48 new applications under review.

More than 94% of Maui County is under some kind of drought as Hawai’i comes off the third-driest season in the last 30 years.

Sierra Club Maui invites the community to its Annual Meeting on Saturday, Nov. 1, 2025, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Cameron Center Auditorium in Wailuku.

The 88-unit temporary housing complex for fire survivors has taken 1 1/2 years longer to build that expected, and risen in cost from $14 to $20 million, but the need for it has not diminished.

Changing rainfall, persistent drought and invasive species are taking a toll on the watershed and leaving East Maui farmers with less water than expected after the restoration of streams.

County of Maui Department of Water Supply is inviting the community to attend an online meeting Thursday, April 24, 2025, from noon to 1 p.m. The meeting will introduce County partner US Water Alliance, a national nonprofit that will hold in-person events next month that focus on Maui island drinking water supply.

Maui County is hoping increased rates as high as 25%, along with stricter measures that include limits on when people can water their lawns during a shortage, will curb water usage.

Maui County is hoping to bring another well online by this summer, but it would be limited to temporary housing projects and homes rebuilt after the 2023 wildfire.

“We felt it was time to really get a better understanding of how much really should be left in the streams as kind of the starting point and then balance that against the other uses as well,” Maui County Water Supply Director John Stufflebean said.