PUA LOKE — The Grove Farm Company and the Lihu‘e Gateway Beautification Project were announced as the winners of the Water Conservation Awards for this year, said Ted Inouye, Kaua‘i vice president of the Hawai‘i Association of Conservation Districts. The
PUA LOKE — The Grove Farm Company and the Lihu‘e Gateway Beautification Project were announced as the winners of the Water Conservation Awards for this year, said Ted Inouye, Kaua‘i vice president of the Hawai‘i Association of Conservation Districts.
The presentations were made on behalf of the East Kaua‘i Soil and Water Conservation District, represented by Jerry Nishek, and the West Kaua‘i Soil and Water Conservation District, represented by Adam Killerman, at the county Department of Water offices along Pua Loke Street, and come on the heels of a successful Make A Splash water festival held last week for close to a thousand Kaua‘i fifth-grade students.
“Each year, the East and West Kaua‘i Soil and Water Conservation Districts recognize a Kaua‘i rancher, farmer, or organization that makes an outstanding effort to conserve domestic water by using an alternative source of water supply and an innovative irrigation method,” Inouye said.
“This helps the county’s Department of Water better manage its potable water supply.
This year’s projects utilize moreefficient water-delivery techniques to irrigate large areas,” Inouye explained.
The Lihu‘e Gateway Beautification Project was selected by the East Kaua‘i conservation district for their state-of-the-art, drip-irrigation system that Nishek pointed out is also being utilized by the county in the (north Vidinha) soccer fields as well as at the new police headquarters building.
One of the unique aspects of the Gateway project is the use for irrigation of remote controls via a two-way radio system connected to a computer located in the State Building.
Water for the system is provided by the Lihu‘e Land Company (a sister company of Grove Farm) through the existing ditch and pipe irrigation system developed over 100 years ago by leaders of the now-defunct Lihue Plantation sugar company.
