About

In 2003, Hui o Nā Wai ‘Ehā was established and determined to address the negative impacts caused by the dewatering of Nā Wai ‘Ehā Streams by Sugar Plantations and corporate water companies. As a Native Hawaiian organization, Hui o Nā Wai ʻEhā believes that the health of our streams is a direct reflection of the health of our lāhui and existing communities. A major component of our lāhui’s demise is due to the vast changes in our food systems and relationship to ʻāina, both of which are directly tied to the loss of our stream water resources and ancestral kuleana agricultural lands.

Mission:

The Mission of Hui o Nā Wai ‘Ehā is to advocate for mauka to makai streamflow restoration in Waikapū, Wailuku Waiehu and Waiheʻe Streams (Nā Wai ‘Ehā), to protect the natural and cultural resources related to traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiians and to engage the Maui community through water resource management education outreach programs and initiatives

Goals & Objectives:

Hui o Nā Wai ‘Ehā has partnered with Maui Tomorrow Foundation, EarthJustice and Office of Hawaiian Affairs to ensure that our following goals and objectives are met.

1) Petition the State Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) to amend the Instream Flow Standards in Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiehu and Waiheʻe Streams to ensure mauka to makai streamflow connectivity in perpetuity. The purpose of this goal is to; (A) Facilitate upstream and downstream passage for native aquatic stream species (ʻoʻopu, hīhīwai, ‘ōpae). (B) Safeguard groundwater and aquifer recharge (C) Revive native ecosystems such as upland watersheds, estuaries, wetlands, riparian native vegetation and nearshore fisheries. (D) Advocate for traditional and customary practices of Native Hawaiians such as loʻi kalo cultivation, nearshore fishing and gathering. (E) Support aesthetic values and outdoor community recreational activities along streams. (F) Promote education and research.

2) Petition CWRM to address appurtenant right issues and allocate an appropriate amount of water for kuleana kalo farmers in Nā Wai ‘Ehā.

3) Organize, support and engage in community-based initiatives centered on water resources management, stream monitoring, ‘āina-based education, traditional food systems and kalo cultivation.

Water in Hawaiʻi is a public trust resource, and the Water Commission has an obligation under HRS Chapter 174c The Water Code http://files.hawaii.gov/dlnr/cwrm/regulations/Code174C.pdf to protect and promote instream values uses such as native stream life protection, traditional and customary Hawaiian practices such as kalo farming and gathering, recreation, aquifer recharge, and scenic values. Instream flow standards or IFS are the minimum flows necessary to sustain these uses and are the primary tool to protect streams and the public uses dependent upon them.

Even though former plantation interests have vastly reduced their crops and switched to those requiring far less water than sugar, they continue to drain the Nā Wai ‘Ehā Streams as they did at the height of sugar cultivation. Nā Wai ‘Ehā streams are dry during much of the year, often running only after rain events. The large-scale closing of sugar plantations present a historic opportunity to leave millions of gallons of fresh water in Nā Wai ‘Ehā for community uses instead of allowing companies to continue hoarding and selling public water for private profit

Defending the Public Trust:

Hui o Nā Wai ʻEhā Board - (2012) — Hui o Nā Wai ʻEhā Board - (2012)

Board of Directors:

President: Hōkūao Pellegrino

Vice President: Koa Hewahewa

Treasurer: Lani Eckart-Dodd

Secretary: Lucienne De Naie

Board Members:

Duke Sevilla

Kōnane Awo-De La Nux

Ikaika Nakahashi

Mikiʻala Puaʻa-Freitas

Mariana Lowry-Gerstmar

Kaʻapuni Aiwohi

Legal Case Collaborators:

Maui Tomorrow

Earthjustice

Office of Hawaiian Affairs

The principle of water as a public trust dates back to ancient times in the islands. Hawaiian organized their lives around flowing streams and emphasized the shared and sustainable use of water.

These ancient values live on in our modern law, such as the constitutional mandate to “protect, control, and regulate the use of Hawaiʻi’s water resources for the benefit of its people.” The law requires the State, primarily the Commission on Water Resource Management (Water Commission), to restore and protect stream flows for public trust purposes such as ecological and Hawaiian cultural practices.

Contrary to the public trust, however, private companies from Hawaiʻi’s plantation past continue to divert streams and treat water as their own property. The old plantations are now engaged in developing former farmlands and selling diverted water to the public.

Earthjustice and our other collaborators are helping local community groups such as Hui o Nā Wai ʻEhā to uphold public rights to water in landmark water rights cases. In the first case, Native Hawaiians and rural Oʻahu farmers fought to restore stream flows that had been diverted to a sugar plantation by Waiāhole Ditch System.

More recently, Maui communities have taken action to restore flows to Nā Wai ʻEhā, or “The Four Great Waters” of Central Maui (Waikapū, Wailuku, Waiehu, Waiheʻe). Currently Wailuku Water Company (WWC), formerly Wailuku Sugar Company and Hawaiian Commercial and Sugar Company (HC&S), now Alexander and Baldwin (A&B), continue to drain those streams dry for their private profit. Even though former plantation interests have vastly reduced their crops and switched to those requiring far less water than sugar, they continue to drain the Nā Wai ‘Ehā Streams as they did at the height of sugar cultivation. While some restoration has been implemented in Nā Wai ʻEhā, a little more than half of the stream flow remains with these corporations for their own private and commodified use. The large-scale closing of sugar plantations presents a historic opportunity to leave millions of gallons of fresh water in Nā Wai ‘Ehā for community uses instead of allowing companies to continue hoarding and selling public water for private profit.

Protecting Streams:

Stream protection is about Hawaiian principles of sharing and stewardship. Streams need adequate mauka to makai (mountain to ocean) flow to ensure healthy ecosystems and fisheries, recharge drinking water sources, support family farms, and sustain the living Hawaiian culture.

Private companies that have long dominated our public trust resources resist restoring flows to our streams. Instead, they raise fears about the demise of agriculture and job losses. Legal proceedings and reality have shown these claims to be inflated and false, while documenting viable alternatives to destroying streams, such as water conservation, reuse, and agriculture wells.

In the past, a privileged few have taken too much water from our streams, with destructive environmental and cultural impacts. It is now time to restore balance.

The best way to restore Hawaiian streams is by following the law and setting instream flow standards that provide the necessary flows for native stream life, kalo farming, and the many other public benefits derived from flowing streams.

The benefits of protecting and restoring instream flows include more efficient and equitable water use, a healthier environment, a stronger economy, a more sustainable future, a revitalized Hawaiian culture and rural ways of life, and a renewed appreciation of the values that have long been a cornerstone of life in Hawaiʻi.

Most importantly, it means returning public trust resources to the public, for the benefit of present and future generations of all of the people of Maui and throughout Hawaiʻi.