Commission adopts revised Agricultural Water Use and Development Plan with conditions; DOA will collaborate on editorial updates

At its March 18 meeting the Commission on Water Resource Management adopted the Department of Agriculture’s revised Agricultural Water Use and Development Plan (2019 plan, revised 2021) for incorporation into the Hawaii Water Plan, approving the plan subject to a package of staff conditions intended to improve clarity, usability and connection to other water planning materials.

What staff recommended and what commissioners approved - Staff recommended adoption but identified several gaps and recommended eight conditions to make the plan more useful to planners and decision‑makers. Key staff recommendations included: adding hyperlinks and an accessible table of contents; cross‑referencing the original 2004 plan for continuity; updating capital improvement project (CIP) cost estimates (2018 dollars in the plan) to reflect current costs; committing the Department of Agriculture to participate in the Agribusiness Development Corporation’s (ADC) strategic planning so ADC CIP plans can inform future updates; adding cautionary language that the plan’s water demand tables may not apply everywhere and recommending use of the IWREDS model as an alternative or supplemental tool; and linking the 2020 State Water Projects Plan and directing more timely consultation with Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) for future updates. - DOA staff and their consultant attended the meeting and accepted many of the editorial and collaborative conditions but said they could not complete a full CIP dollar‑figure update for 2025 within the current work scope and budget. Commission staff and DOA agreed to administrative steps (hyperlinking, adding clarifying language) before the plan is posted as adopted and to address the larger cost‑update work in the next plan revision.

Why commissioners pressed for changes - Commissioners and staff emphasized that table 1‑30 in the plan — a set of generic per‑acre/ per‑crop water demand rates compiled from DOA interviews and meter data — should not be used as the sole basis for permit or allocation decisions because water demand varies widely by elevation, soil type, irrigation efficiency, crop, and climate. Staff recommended (and the commission required, as a condition) that the plan itself warn readers that demand rates are context dependent and to recommend the Commission’s IWREDS tool when a site‑specific estimate is needed. - Commissioners also asked that DOA coordinate with the Agribusiness Development Corporation on CIP prioritization for plantation irrigation systems, and that future updates explicitly incorporate DHHL needs so the plan better reflects all statewide agricultural water obligations.

What DOA agreed to at the meeting - DOA agreed to work with Commission staff to add hyperlinks and references so readers can easily access the 2004 plan and appendices, to include clarifying language that demand tables are a planning guideline rather than a one‑size‑fits‑all rule, and to participate in ADC strategic planning so the next plan can include prioritized CIP lists. DOA said it will address larger, more resource‑intensive updates (for example a full 2025 CIP dollar update) in the next formal plan revision rather than in a last‑minute amendment to the current document.

Vote and next steps - The commission voted 5–0 to adopt the plan as amended by the agreed conditions. DOA and Commission planning staff will coordinate the agreed administrative edits, post the adopted plan with hyperlinks and explanatory language, and document DOA’s commitments for the next update.

Speakers (selected) - Katie Roth — Planning Branch, Commission (staff presenter) - Janice Fujimoto — Dept. of Agriculture, Agricultural Resource Management Division (DOA presenter) - Brian Ishii — Consultant to DOA (technical consultant)

Clarifying details captured in the record - The plan supplements, it does not replace, the 2004 Agricultural Water Use and Development Plan; readers should consult both documents for a full system inventory for legacy plantation systems. - DOA’s 2021 work surveyed over 100 farms and augmented the older single‑rate approach with a range of demand rates by crop, climate and irrigation type; staff asked DOA to add stronger caveats and point readers to IWREDS for site‑specific estimations.

Why this matters - The agricultural water plan is part of the Hawaii Water Plan and informs county water planning, CIP prioritization and state discussions about agricultural water infrastructure. As water supplies tighten with climate change and competing uses, commissioners said the plan must present demand estimates and infrastructure needs in a way that supports consistent, defensible decisions on permits and allocations.

Provenance (evidence spans) - topicintro: transcript timestamp 9256.55–9334.095 — Katie Roth presentation summarizing the plan and staff conditions. - topfinish: transcript timestamp 13975.575–13982.155 — Motion to adopt as amended passed with a recorded vote of 5–0.

Searchable tags: agricultural_water_plan, DOA, IWREDS, ADC, DHHL, water_demand, CIP