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The Maui Island Water Use and Development Plan, which provides policies for the protection, management and use of water resources over a 20-year-period, was adopted recently by the state Commission on Water Resources Management. 

Counties prepare the plans as components of the Hawaii Water Plan, which provides a statewide planning guide for water and environmental protection, agricultural stability, economic development and good municipal water services, according to a news release from Maui County Council Member Shane Sinenci on Monday.

A council committee chaired by Sinenci held 15 meetings during the last council term to review the draft Maui Island Water Use and Development Plan. 

The council unanimously approved Ordinance 5335, which took effect Feb. 7, 2022, then sent the plan to the state water commission for review and approval. 

“The Department of Water Supply spent five years developing the water use and development plan and the Maui County Council spent two years reviewing and updating it to reflect the community’s desires and reflect environmental stewardship values and water as a cultural resource,” said Sinenci, who holds the East Maui residency seat. “The Water Commission’s approval of the plan is gratifying.”

The water commission approved the Maui plan at its June 20 meeting, with five conditions to be fulfilled by the county’s water department. The conditions include:

• Hiring a consultant to write a “Maui Island WUDP Summary,” with the goal of making the 1,350-page plan more user friendly and accessible to the public. 

• Incorporating the findings of the U.S. Geological Survey study on climate change impacts on groundwater recharge into future plan updates. 

• Organizing meetings annually with stakeholder groups throughout the island to better quantify water needs of residents, including traditional kuleana users, rural residents and small farmers. Feedback will be included in future updates. 

• Reporting to the water commission within a year on the Haiku aquifer’s ability to produce well water for other communities. 

• Requiring that the plan and its future updates look at more than just the county’s water systems and encourage water conservation among all water purveyors. 

Maui County was also lauded during the commission meeting as being the first county to examine water as a cultural resource in a water use and development plan, the news release said.