Millions of Gallons of Water to Remain in East Maui Streams

By Parker Kilkenny, J.D. candidate at William S. Richardson School of Law, University of Hawaiʻi – Manoa | Reading time: 1.5min

On July 17, the Environmental Court brought the hammer down on the Board of Land and Natural Resources, invalidating the Board’s 2026 permit that allowed the diversion of over 40 million gallons of water from East Maui streams per day. While the court did not stop the diversions entirely, it reduced the amount of water that stream diverter Mahi Pono could take by roughly 25%, a decision that will allow millions of gallons of water to remain in East Maui’s streams. This cap will remain in place until a contested case hearing for the 2026 and anticipated 2027 permits is held, allowing Sierra Club and Nā Moku to present and cross-examine evidence and testimony from the community, experts, cultural practitioners, and others. The reduction in the amount of water that can be diverted is key to ensuring that the hearing will commence before the end of this year, so that any permit conditions to protect the public trust are in place before 2027.

This order is yet another in a long line of decisions condemning the Board for failing to conform with its public trust duties. In this latest ruling, the court found that the Board failed to independently assess cultural impacts of diversion and failed to implement mitigation measures to reduce water waste.  It also required the Board to implement modifications to diversion structures to reduce system losses to 5.4%, instead of the outrageous 22.7% loss currently allowed— millions of gallons of water taken from streams every day just to be wasted!

While this decision is an undeniable win for Sierra Club and the streams of East Maui, the outcome of the imminent contested case hearing will ultimately determine if BLNR is ready to realign their decisions with the values and interests of the community. Stay tuned for updates as the long-awaited contested case hearing commences this fall.