HANAPEPE — Kaua‘i salt makers say development surrounding the salt patches in Hanapepe threatens the quality and quantity of their product — as well as the unique Hawaiian tradition. Kaua‘i Rep. Roland Sagum, D-District 16, met with more than two
HANAPEPE — Kaua‘i salt makers say development surrounding the salt patches in Hanapepe threatens the quality and quantity of their product — as well as the unique Hawaiian tradition.
Kaua‘i Rep. Roland Sagum, D-District 16, met with more than two dozen residents concerned with the state of the ponds on Monday. Accompanying him were two O‘ahu representatives from the Water, Land, Ocean Resources & Hawaiian Affairs Committee: Chair Ken Ito and Vice Chair Pono Chong. Sagum said he brought his fellow committee members so that they have an idea of what’s going on when the issue comes up during the next legislative session.
Last year Sagum proposed an unsuccessful resolution to convene a group of stakeholders to look into ways to protect the area’s resources. The measure didn’t materialize, but Sagum is interested in reviving it next year.
Hanapepe is home to the state’s only natural salt ponds still used today by descendants of ancient Hawaiians to make sea salt. Salt is panned during the summer months, as the area fills with water during the winter months.
“There’s so much development going on around here that it’s affecting the salt,” said Kuulei Santos, a salt maker who has carried on her family’s tradition.
Santos explained that water travels underground into wells about 4 feet deep. The salt makers transfer the water into beds made from black clay. The beds are about 4 feet by 3 feet and sun-baked. When the water crystallizes it forms salt.
Though listed on the State Historic Preservation Register, there are no physical structures protecting the low-lying area from the activity around it. According to Santos, an area between the parking lot and beach was backfilled with old asphalt, which has disrupted the drainage of water to the beds. In addition, the neighboring Port Allen airport has undergone some development, Kaalani Road running alongside the ponds is eroding, and mud from the cane fields flows downhill to the ponds during the rainy season.
Other complaints voiced at the gathering included ash from controlled cane burns, leach from a nearby cesspool, a broken water main on an adjacent road, and trucks that drive on the beds when dry.
“We have a lot of bad things that are affecting our salt and the amount of time we have to work it,” Santos said.
According to Sagum, the purpose of his visit was twofold: To orient his fellow legislators and gather community input. On forming a committee, Sagum said he’d like salt makers to have a bigger say than other stakeholders.
Many in attendance said they wanted action, not talk. But the legislators stressed that a committee will start the slow process of identifying the problems as well as the solutions — and more importantly, documenting and legitimizing the anecdotal evidence.
“At that point you are going to have an agreement about what’s important and you have a plan,” Chong said. As a starting point, many residents and salt makers agreed that a study of the damages to the ponds is overdue.
“I hate to say this but it’s going to take some time,” Chong said. “You have to educate 76 people in the Legislature to get it done.”
• Blake Jones, business writer/assistant editor, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 251) or bjones@kauaipubco.com.
