Molokai homesteaders urge DHHL to take over irrigation, allow smaller ag lots and protect historic site

At the Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting in Kalamaula on April 22, Molokai beneficiaries urged the commission and staff to assume control of the Molokai Irrigation System and to make land-use changes that would let more families farm and live on homestead lands.

The Molokai irrigation system supplies water used for homestead agriculture across the island, and testifier Glenn Tevis said the system is “our lifeline to food production” and that many homesteads remain without agricultural water. “I estimate that over 100 agriculture homesteads are without access to water … it's about 150 to 200 homesteads without agricultural water,” Tevis said, arguing that lack of ag water forces families to use more expensive domestic water and reduces local food production.

Why it matters: Commissioners and testifiers said limited access to agricultural water, high utility costs, and large undeveloped lots combine to suppress farming and increase costs for families who want to grow food on Hawaiian home lands. Tevis and others said…