LIHUE — The mediated settlement, approved by the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management in April, to immediately restore continuous flows in West Kauai’s Waimea River, is the subject of a video mini-documentary produced by the state Department of Land
LIHUE — The mediated settlement, approved by the Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management in April, to immediately restore continuous flows in West Kauai’s Waimea River, is the subject of a video mini-documentary produced by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
“This video transports the viewer deep into Waimea Canyon not only to see the stunning beauty of this river system, but also to depict the complexity and extent of the more than 100-year-old water-diversion system designed originally to provide water for sugarcane growing operations on the Mana plain in West Kauai,” state Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair Suzanne Case said.
“We had the opportunity to talk with many of the major parties involved in the settlement, which was achieved in record time and avoided the likely many years of time-consuming and expensive contested-case process.”
The documentary includes interviews with representatives from Earthjustice, Po‘ai Wai Ola, Kauai Island Utility Cooperative, Kekaha Agriculture Association, Hawaii Commission on Water Resource Management, and owners of small farms who will benefit from restored stream flows.
“We hope this video will be used as not only a tool to educate interested people about the settlement and what it means, but to also serve as a tutorial for other groups or individuals who are contemplating the contested-case process as a way to handle water disputes,” said Jeffrey Pearson, DLNR deputy director assigned to the Commission on Water Resource Management.
In the film, many of those interviewed say they agree that the settlement provided both wins and losses for everyone involved, and that now with an agreement in hand there will be additional months and years of work to implement it successfully.
Ultimately, as the documentary indicates, the settlement will mean water for agriculture, renewable-energy projects, and residential and economic opportunities for Kauai’s Westside.
The 13-minute video can be viewed live or downloaded, at http://dlnr.hawaii.gov/blog/2017/10/23/nr17_0170/.
