Submit testimony to the BLNR in defense of East Maui’s streams
The agenda for November 13th has been released and here we are again...gathering before the Board of Land and Natural Resources in defense of East Maui’s streams. It’s an aggravating place to be year after year but being in good company with you makes it easier.
Albeit, this year is a little different since we won’t be gathering at the DLNR office early in the morning as usual. Instead, I urge you to submit written testimony to the Board by Thursday, November 12th at 9am, asking the board to add conditions to Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono’s permits that reduce water waste and keep more water in East Maui’s streams.
Last year, the Board renewed the permits of East Maui Irrigation—equally owned by Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono—allowing the corporations to divert 45 million gallons of water a day from East Maui’s streams. You might remember that the Board increased the amount of water allowed to be diverted from the previous 35 million gallons of water a day… without a basis for doing so.
Through our lawsuit, we learned that not only does Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono not need 45 million gallons of water a day...they are wasting more than 70% of the water they are diverting. And that is exactly what we are demanding the Board stop from happening. While Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono are wasting tens of millions of gallons of water a day, stream beds are dry, native ecosystems decimated and residents along streams left without water.
Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono are taking 22-27 million gallons of water a day but only using roughly 5-7 million gallons of that water for their uses, including providing water to the County for upcountry drinking water, Kula Agricultural Park, Central Maui diversified agriculture, and for firefighting and dust control needs.
This is beyond outrageous. By wasting the majority of the water diverted, Alexander & Baldwin and Mahi Pono are saying that the water is so cheap it is not worth their money to make sure it is not wasted. Funnel the outrage this invokes and submit testimony to the Board now. Come Friday, you can tune into the livestream of the meeting here.