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Wai and Watershed Recovery Planning
Natural and Cultural Resources
High
TBD
Planning
County
State
County & State
Private
Kaua‘ula Valley, Remnant Stream by Kepā Maly
“Fresh water belongs to the public; redirect the watershed to parched lands.”
Community Quote from Long-Term Planning Recovery Survey
Project Description
Wai and watershed recovery planning for Lahaina moku and Kula moku will plan for mauka to makai holistic restoration efforts for the well-being of the environment and people. This project involves the creation of a Wai and Watershed Recovery Working Group for Lahaina and Kula moku comprised of various County, State, federal, and community groups to discuss wai and watershed recovery current efforts and future needs. This project involves management planning for the watersheds of Lahaina moku, including:
- Wahikuli
- Kahoma
- Kauaʻula
- Launiupoko
- Olowalu
- Ukumehame
- Papalaua
- and Pohakea
This project also involves community water planning in Lahaina moku for ecosystem function, water supply for community needs and water supply for watershed restoration activities. The goal for this project is to plan for key water and watershed restoration projects from mauka to makai, such as reforestation with native plants, fuels reduction of invasive grasses, restoration of stream flow, establishment of agroforestry and agriculture, flood control, and erosion control.
Purpose
This project is key to revitalizing the health of the environment and people, reducing fire and hazard risks for the community, increasing aquifer recharge, restoring native habitats, and maintaining the health of the coral reef ecosystem. Currently, there are no watershed management plans that cover the Lahaina impact zone, and the majority of the lands directly surrounding Lahaina in the mid-watershed region lie fallow with invasive grasses that pose high fire risks for the community. The development of a watershed management plan can facilitate collaboration and project implementation across County, State, federal, and community groups and open pathways to funding sources. The community has also expressed interest in development and implementation of a community-led water plan, which focuses on water systems and community governance over water in West Maui.
Interdependencies and Roadblocks
Many government agencies, community groups, and private landowners remain siloed but groups must work together for holistic mauka to makai recovery and longterm success. At the core of most recovery efforts are questions of the future of Lahaina’s wai and water supply and its potential use and/or purpose. Urban development and natural resources stewardship is another challenge; development requires land and water, which places strain on natural resources and activities like reforestation, conservation, agriculture and food security, restoring stream flow, and recharging the groundwater aquifer. Oftentimes, funding for studies, planning and implementation is limited as economic benefits of wai and watershed planning aren’t recognized.
Next Steps
- Identify individuals, agencies and groups to include in working group discussions
- Build relationships among groups
- Get funding watershed plans and studies
- Identify key projects and actions to restore the fallow grasslands surrounding Lahaina and restore Lahaina’s watershed from mauka to makai
- Develop a multiagency management program for the middle watershed area to steward the unproductive former plantation lands which currently lie fallow
- Develop a division in the County Department of Agriculture to manage the middle watershed
Project Details
Cost Estimate:
$TBD
Existing Funding Sources:
State Department of Health applied to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for Technical Assistance Grants
Project Lead:
- County Department of Agriculture
- County Department of Water Supply
Potential Funding Sources:
- Cooperative Watershed Management Program
- Coral Reef and Natural Resources Program
- Philanthropic
- County, State and Federal Partners
Project Partners:
- West Maui Ridge to Reef
- County Department of Water Supply
- County Department of Public Works
- State Department of Land and Natural Resources
- U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resource Conservation Service
- Environmental Protection Agency
- Kamehameha Schools
- Ku’ia Agricultural Educational Center
- West Maui Land
- Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation
- Mauna Kahālāwai Watershed Partnership
- Kipuka Olowalu
- Kula Community Watershed Alliance
- Hawaiʻi Association of Watershed Partnerships
- Living Pono Project (Pu’u Kukui Watershed)
- Economic Recovery Commission
- State Department of Health, Surface Water Protection Branch
Alignment with West Maui Community Plan (WMCP)
- Goal 2.1 Ready and resilient systems
- Goal 2.3 Responsible stewardship of resources, culture, and character
- WMCP Action 3.17 Implement recommended actions that are within the County’s jurisdiction form the West Maui Mountains Watershed Management Plan and the USACE West Maui Watershed Study, when complete