HAIKU - The state Commission on Water Resource Management voted unanimously Thursday on a precedent-setting ruling to restore at least 12.21 million gallons a day of water into eight East Maui streams that are often reduced to trickles.

For more than 125 years, plantations on Maui have diverted water from the streams using a series of ditches and diversions to irrigate fields of sugar cane, pineapple and produce in Central Maui and in Kula.

In the process, stream flows were cut to lower elevations, affecting taro farmers as well as habitat for native stream flora and fauna. Water diverted by the East Maui Irrigation Co. flows to Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., which averages 160 million gallons of water a day to cultivate about 30,000 acres on Maui.

The commissioners' vote is a historic effort to resolve a 2001 petition filed by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corp. on behalf of Na Moku Aupuni O Koolau Hui and taro farmers Beatrice Kekahuna, Marjorie Wallet and Elizabeth Lapenia demanding the state establish instream flow standards for the East Maui watershed.

"This is a monumental change," said water commission Chairwoman Laura Thielen, saying that Thursday's decision will have effects felt across the state.

Both HC&S officials and the farmers said they were pleased with the ruling, but both sides still had some reservations.

Taro farmers wondered if the new instream flow standards would be enough and wanted to see cool, fast water return to their loi, or taro patches, sooner rather than later.

Testifiers again and again also said that it is not HC&S' water. It is the Native Hawaiian people's water, they said, and the company should be required to prove that it deserves the water.
[...]
The hearing opened Thursday morning at the Haiku Community Center, ran into the night and was continued to Friday, with the commission taking 11 hours of public testimony and reports by the water commission staff - including the recommendation for restoring 12.21 mgd to the streams.

The petition by the East Maui taro growers is based on state constitutional and Water Code provisions that aim to establish riparian rights of streamside landowners, preserve stream habitats for native species and allow for economic use of stream waters. Na Moku Aupuni O Koolau Hui challenged the long-standing diversions of East Maui streams that the downstream users said did not leave sufficient flow for their taro crops or for stream life.

The commission's decisions involve just five hydrological units, the Honopou, Hanehoi, Piinaau, Waiokamilo and the Wailuanui, which contain a total of eight streams.

The commission still has pending the petitions for 19 additional streams on the East Maui slopes that are being tapped by the EMI system, as well as a Maui County system for Upcountry Maui.

For the streams included in the decision Friday, Thielen said she was uncertain exactly when the water would be restored, except that some action may occur immediately.
[...]
Water commission staffers said they believe they can set instream flow standards for the other streams within a year, despite budget crunches at the state level, said Deputy Director Ken Kawahara.
[...]
The best way to manage the stream flow is through regulation, commission staffers said. It will be a monumental task that requires the commission to establish instream flow standards for diverted streams across Hawaii. But that's what they will need to do, they said.

For three of the hydrological units, the changes could provide roughly twice as much stream flow for taro farmers, wildlife, fish and plants. The 12.21 million gallons is the minimum amount EMI must release daily. However, the total amount of water in the hydrological units can change depending on a number of variables, such as rainfall and springs.
[...]
...taro growers said they need more cooling water in the streams to keep their crop from succumbing to disease.

"I'm here to tell you that I really need the water," petitioner Beatrice Kekahuna said. "All I'm asking for is more water. I'm suffering. I'm almost at the end of the stream and by the time it gets to me, it's warm."

The 72-year-old said she works hard in her loi and politely asked the commissioners to look into her request because she needs it.

"We need to replenish the ocean," said Kuulei Kaauamo, a taro farmer from Keanae. "We need the water. All the water . . . EMI is not working for the people. Look at us, our young men are working in the mud every day. They are working to keep our traditions alive."
[...]