Keauhou adaptive‑management planning moves toward community review; funding and staffing next steps identified

Commission staff briefed the commission on the state of the Keauhou Adaptive Management Plan (AMP) and three expert group reports summarizing indicators and monitoring options. The briefing summarized expert recommendations on ecological and hydrologic indicators, integration with cultural practices, and next steps for a community workshop in Kona to incorporate traditional practitioner input into a baseline monitoring plan.

Staff said the project currently has recurring operating funds in the commission’s budget (approximately $200,000 per year allocated to support a monitoring pilot) and $4 million in CIP funds appropriated for deep monitoring wells in the Keauhou aquifer. Staff proposed either recruiting a dedicated CWERM project lead to steward the AMP or, if an internal hire is not feasible, contracting for completion of the monitoring plan with existing staff oversight.

Next steps include convening the expert groups and cultural practitioners in November 2025 in Kona for a one‑day public workshop to review draft indicators and monitoring recommendations, firming site selection and priorities for deep monitor‑well placement (CIP funds), and clarifying how monitoring data will be used to inform future water‑management actions. Staff emphasized a preference to integrate traditional practitioners into the indicator selection and to focus some monitoring on the midpoint transition zone (interface between freshwater and brackish zones) so groundwater impacts can be detected before food‑chain impacts appear at the surface.

Public commenters raised concerns about the transparency of permitting for a Kaloko deep monitoring well and urged the commission to ensure broad community and cultural participation. Staff noted the recent well‑repair permit action and said the permit was issued to fix and complete construction of an existing observation well; staff committed to share permit files and follow up with requester inquiries.

Why it matters: The Keauhou AMP is intended as a practical, place‑based monitoring framework to detect groundwater‑surface water interactions and to support culturally informed management decisions. Commissioners and public commenters requested clear pathways for how monitoring results would be used, how they link to potential designation or regulatory tools, and how community practitioners will be included in indicator selection and implementation.

What happens next: Staff will (1) organize the November community review meeting in Kona, (2) refine the list of indicators (hydrologic, biological, and bio‑cultural), (3) pursue recruitment or contracting for a project lead, and (4) advise the commission on specific deep‑monitor‑well siting proposals and use of CIP funds.