Hawaii First Water

Archives for January 2015

USDA grants DLNR $467,000, leveraging state funds

17 Jan 2015, HONOLULU – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today that the State of Hawaii Dept. of Land and Natural Resources is a recipient of more than $467,000 as part of a new Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP).  The program’s focus on public-private partnerships enables private companies, land owners, local communities and other non-government partners to keep lands resilient, water clean and promote economic growth in a variety of industries.

Carty Chang, DLNR Acting Chairperson said, “Thanks to funding from the Legislature for watershed protection, we have been able to leverage that to obtain additional federal funding, a continuing effort and top priority for the Department. Our forests ensure fresh, clean water because they act like sponges, absorbing mist and rain.  Hawaii’s rainfall and water supplies have been steadily declining, a trend expected to accelerate due to climate change. We must act now to protect forests to ensure water for people today and future generations.”

See the full article here

 

Preliminary Finding of Facts: Copy of the Petition to Designate Keauhou Aquifer System as a Ground Water Management Area

9 Jan 2015: These Preliminary Findings of Fact (FOF) have been prepared for the Commission in its consideration whether to proceed to the next step in the process to designate the Keauhou Aquifer System Area, Kona, Hawaii as a ground water management area under the Water Code.  The FOF are not final and may be further revised…

The Preliminary FOF is a brief summary of a much more complex and technical record.  There are new questions including climate change conditions, the relationship and mixing of high-level and basal ground water, the projected water demand (and “authorized planned use”) of different land use scenarios, the state (and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands) project water requirements, the sequencing, location, and the development of infrastructure, and the incorporation of traditional and customary practices…

A copy of the report is here.