Deputy director briefs commission on first‑generation Keauhou adaptive management plan; community speakers press for immediate designation

Deputy Director Kira Kahovane briefed the Commission on the first‑generation adaptive management plan (AMP) for the Keauhou (Keauhou/Keahou) Aquifer System area and described a multi‑stage effort to set indicators, select sentinel monitoring sites, develop an initial conceptual model and assess funding needs for a longer‑term monitoring and management program.

Kahovane said the AMP is intended as an iterative “first generation” that will be strengthened over subsequent iterations. The initial plan will establish an inventory of groundwater‑dependent features, an initial set of monitoring indicators and sentinel sites, and draft monitoring procedures. The AMP will not direct land use or set sustainable yields in this first generation; rather, staff said the plan is meant to identify data gaps, propose research to fill them, and create a monitoring program that can feed the Water Resource Protection Plan and county water use and development planning.

Kahovane described structural changes to the outreach and advisory process: separate expert groups (hydrology, indicators/species, traditional/customary practitioners and contamination/pollution experts) will meet; the commission will convene a larger multi‑stakeholder group or council toward the end of the process to synthesize recommendations; and county water suppliers and other entities will be invited to participate earlier in the process. She said hiring a dedicated AMP program manager and building long‑term funding estimates are priorities.

Several commissioners and many public commenters raised a central concern: whether the AMP process could delay or forestall a water‑management area (designation) process that would give the Commission regulatory tools to limit or condition pumping. Several public speakers urged immediate designation.

Speakers from community groups and practitioners said impacts to groundwater‑dependent ecosystems and cultural practices are already occurring and described the AMP as insufficient if it merely defers protective action. A Loke Aloha representative who submitted written testimony referenced prior material and readings of the 2017 designation denial, saying on the record: “the installed capacity of all wells in the Keauhou Aquifer System area is approximately 35,500,000 gallons a day. This constitutes 93% of the sustainable yield.” Public commenters including Makanui Kitahara and Kimberly Crawford of Hui Ola I Ka Wai urged the commission to expedite designation and not wait for multiple AMP iterations.

Several technical commenters and consultants urged careful design of monitoring and clarified limits of certain data collection approaches. Jonathan of Kohalawai Consulting told the commission that short pump tests and point measurements are unlikely to detect long‑term coastal effects and urged broader monitoring and, separately, said designation is the proper process to secure clear legal protections for public‑trust uses.

Commissioners discussed options for moving forward. Chair Chang and other commissioners said the AMP and designation are not necessarily mutually exclusive and suggested staff prepare an analysis outlining: (a) how the AMP would proceed, (b) what a designation process would require, and (c) how the two tracks could run concurrently. Commissioners also asked staff to provide the commission with a clearer summary of outstanding well permit applications and how installed pumping capacity compares to sustainable yield figures.

Kahovane said certain AMP elements are mandated by Act 189 (Session Laws of Hawaii, June 2025), which requires a monitoring program for Keauhou and reporting to the legislature; she also outlined a draft Gantt chart showing an AMP draft for public review in October and program staffing and reporting milestones in FY2026–FY2027. Kahovane confirmed staff is working to expand outreach to additional traditional/customary practitioners, build a public map of production and proposed wells, and identify sentinel monitoring locations. She also said federal funds are available to support the project.

The commission did not take formal action on designation at the meeting. Commissioners directed staff to return with a clearer outline comparing the AMP and designation pathways and recommended the attorney general be asked (in writing) for legal guidance on the commission’s authority to mitigate ongoing harm to public‑trust resources before or during AMP development.