Commission grants staff time to consult on Waianae groundwater designation petition

The Commission on Water Resource Management voted on Feb. 18 to allow staff additional time to consult with the City and County of Honolulu on a petition from the Honolulu Board of Water Supply seeking designation of the Waianae Aquifer Sector as a Groundwater Management Area.

Kira Kahahane, deputy to the commission, told commissioners the Board of Water Supply filed the petition on Jan. 7; by statute the commission’s chairperson must act on a petition within 60 days unless additional time is reasonably necessary. The 60‑day clock ran to March 7 this year, and staff asked that the chair be allowed to report back at the March meeting or be given up to an additional 60 days if county comments are still pending.

The petition cites declining rainfall, ongoing water disputes, withdrawals in the Waianae and Makaha systems that the submittal says are nearing or exceeding about 90% of sustainable yield, future demand pressures including Department of Hawaiian Home Lands homesteads, and potential water‑quality threats as reasons to seek designation. Representatives of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply said they supported the extension and stood behind the petition’s analysis.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicants on outreach and consultation. Applicants said county council members and the Board of Water Supply chair had been briefed and that the BWS had briefed mayoral staff; they also described repeated but unsuccessful efforts to secure Navy review. Commissioners and staff discussed whether the commission should also address surface‑water connections during the designation process — citing prior case law and uncertainty about how designation of groundwater might affect streamflow regulation — but agreed the immediate step was to secure county input before the chair makes a recommendation.

A motion to amend the staff recommendation to permit the consultation extension, not to exceed an additional 60 days, was moved, seconded and approved by roll call with all commissioners voting in the affirmative. The commission’s action does not constitute a final decision on designation; staff will report back with consultation results and any proposed chair recommendation for the commission to accept or reject the petition.

The petition and staff submittal are attached to the commission record. The commission’s statutory process requires consultation with the county mayor, county council and county water board, a public hearing and, if warranted, a scientific investigation and findings of fact before any final designation is made.