WAILUA — The sacred location that once housed a steady, gushing flow of water has since been replaced by a steady trickle, prompting four complaints to be lodged with the state this week. The complaints were drafted following rumors that
WAILUA — The sacred location that once housed a steady, gushing flow of water has since been replaced by a steady trickle, prompting four complaints to be lodged with the state this week.
The complaints were drafted following rumors that water was being diverted away from Secret Falls, which, according to residents and business owners, significantly stanched about four to six weeks ago.
Listed among the complaints were allegations that the production of the movie “Tropic Thunder,” was affecting the waterflow, however that allegation hasn’t been proven. Nor have the remaining allegations, which include the diversion of water by farmers for agricultural use, or by an innertube company trying to amp up its number of customers. The final complaint — that Kauai Island Utility Cooperative had siphoned it off for power — also has proven untrue so far, state water officials said.
“Basically there’s a lot of rumors and allegations and from what we saw, at this point it doesn’t appear there is any type of manmade diversion taking any more water from the stream,” Ken Kawahara, the water commission’s deputy director, said.
Initial findings from an aerial review in a helicopter conducted Wednesday by Ed Sakoda, head of the Department of Land and Natural Resources stream protection and management branch, showed drought is the reason water has tapered off.
Should any wrongful diversion practices be found, stream alterations and diversions require permits, and should any wrongful diversion practices be found, each violation could yield up to a $5,000 fine, according to state law.
“Secret Falls goes over the north fork of the Wailua river. The movie and the innertube issues are on the south fork. They’re not from that watershed area.”
Kawahara added that the investigation isn’t complete, and that water commission staff will return on-island next week for further analysis.
That said, those with a vested interest in the waterfall flow, such as Wailua business owners and residents, will have to remain patient to find out whether the problem is in the surface water or underground.
“Just because they don’t share the same watershed doesn’t convince me it’s not related,” Rainbow Kayak Tours owner Will Leonard said, alluding to underground waterflow and aquifers.
“You start drawing water from certain areas, and that’s all part of the same water table,” he said.
Kawahara said monitoring groundwater is unique on-island because of Kaua‘i’s age, as its geology is more compact.
“Typically it takes longer for water to percolate underground, so therefore it’s very difficult to see a quick connection between surface water and groundwater,” he said. “It’s not as porous as a younger island, like the Big Island.”
According to the DLNR, most of Hawai‘i’s streams are supplied directly from rainfall. An estimated 50 percent reduction in rainfall has resulted in a drought that has, through July 31, put Kaua‘i at 60 percent of its average at eight of its 17 rainfall stations.
