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Commission backs USGS joint study of Maui central aquifer amid questions about designation and permits
Summary
The commission authorized a joint funding agreement with the USGS for a three‑year, $442,000 study of groundwater flow in the Central Maui aquifer sector; the commission will contribute approximately $399,000. Commissioners and public commenters pressed staff on how the study’s results could affect aquifer boundaries, designation, and permit processing in Kahului.
The Commission on Water Resource Management authorized the chair to enter a joint funding agreement with the U.S. Geological Survey to study groundwater flow in Maui’s central aquifer sector, a three‑year effort estimated to cost $442,000.
Ryan Imata of the Groundwater Branch summarized the project and budget: “The total cost for this 3‑year study is estimated to be $442,000, of which the commission will contribute $399,000 and USGS will contribute $43,000 in matching funds,” he said. The study will analyze groundwater flow, produce model files and a published USGS report, and is intended to inform whether current aquifer system boundaries align with groundwater flow patterns.
Commissioners repeatedly asked whether study results could prompt aquifer designation and how the study would affect pending permit applications in areas such as Kahului. Imata said staff has not been issuing new permits in Kahului because of uncertainty, and that the study is intended to provide information to support future boundary and permitting decisions. He confirmed the study is exempt from an environmental assessment under the commission’s exemption list.
Public commenter Jonathan Ulikeke Scheuer, a consultant to the Department of Hawaiian Homelands, urged clarity about how staff will relate the study to an existing petition for designation for part of the area. “There is apparently a petition for designation of the Kamole Aquifer, which has been filed with this commission,” Scheuer said, and asked whether the petition had been considered in the study’s context. Staff responded that prioritization was set in part by legislative funding and by areas with demonstrated withdrawals and development pressure.
Commissioners asked for regular updates and requested that staff provide clearer context on pending permit applications and on the study’s potential timing and scenarios to be run by USGS. The motion to authorize delegation to the chair passed unanimously.
