Maui County Water Director Jeff Eng explains the impact of the drought on the Upcountry water system to Sen. Daniel Akaka and Mayor Charmaine Tavares on Wednesday as they view the depleted reservoir.  The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo 

By ILIMA LOOMIS, Staff Writer

PIIHOLO - U.S. Sen. Daniel Akaka said he will fully support a 300-million-gallon water storage reservoir Upcountry, while touring the drought-depleted Kahakapao reservoirs Wednesday.

The 100-million-gallon Kahakapao reservoirs were down to 18.3 million gallons, one week after the Department of Water Supply issued a drought watch for the island. Akaka told Mayor Charmaine Tavares he would work with the state and county to support funds for the project, which is estimated to cost $15 million for initial land acquisition, studies and design.

"I'll be glad to carry the banner on this," Akaka said.

Both halves of the 100-million-gallon Kahakapao reservoirs are well below capacity with about 18 million gallons in storage on Wednesday and no water flowing in.  The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

Tavares said the project has been her "number-one priority" since before she was elected mayor. In addition to serving homes, she said, the reservoir, which is proposed to be built with a dual waterline, would be a vital source of affordable water for farmers.

"This is critical to our whole island economy," she said.

Tavares proposes to build 300 million gallons of additional water storage in Piiholo. The Maui County Council is expected to approve $3.75 million for the project in the fiscal year 2009 budget, while the state Legislature has approved a matching amount. The county is also seeking $7.5 million from the federal government.

If approved, Tavares said it could take five years of planning and design to break ground on the project. Construction is estimated to cost between $60 million and $100 million.

Eng said the county is considering proposing the new facility as a phased project of two 150-million-gallon reservoirs, rather than a single 300-million-gallon reservoir.

"Rather than the whole shebang at one time, two half-shebangs might be the way to go," he said.

In addition to the 100-million-gallon reservoirs at Kahakapao, the county operates the 50-million-gallon Piiholo Reservoir and the 30-million-gallon Waikamoi Reservoirs. For most of May, Upcountry water use has been running close to 8 million gallons per day, of which about 80 percent is provided by surface water systems.

At only 18 percent of capacity Wednesday, the Kahakapao reservoirs showed the impact of unusually dry conditions in the East Maui watershed this spring. Water Director Jeff Eng said the county had begun to increase pumping from the Kamaole Well in Haliimaile in order to preserve what's left in the reservoirs. If the county continued to draw from the reservoirs at the usual rate, they would be completely dry in 10 days, Eng said.

"It's pretty bad," he said.

Drawing more from Kamaole is costly, because of the electricity it takes to pump the water uphill. Power is a huge expense for the water department.

Eng said the proposed reservoir would be "ideally situated" to take advantage of existing stream intakes and use gravity to move water down to Pukalani and Makawao. That also gives it the potential to be outfitted with hydroelectric technologies, so that the moving water could help generate electricity for the system.

Akaka said the project had his support.

"There's no question this is a vital project for the future, for the water problems on Maui," he said.

Tavares said the need to support island agriculture and the potential to help power the system made the project important on multiple levels. More than half of the demand on the Upcountry system is for agriculture, and the county last year exempted ag users from a drought order to cut use by 10 percent.

"We've got food, water and power all bundled together, and that's kind of how we need to work," she said. 

Maui Farm Bureau Executive Director Warren Watanabe gives a Kula farmer’s perspective on the water situation Upcountry to Sen. Daniel Akaka on Wednesday.  The Maui News / MATTHEW THAYER photo

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