Hawaii First Water

Archives for May 2016

UNEP: Global Environment Outlook: GEO-6 Regional Assessment for Asia and the Pacific, Excerpt on Water Use…

As published May 2016:

1.2.4 Water use is increasing and intensity remains

high Asia and the Pacific accounts for more than 50 per cent of

the world’s water use, and it is increasing. Water intensity in

the region’s developing countries has decreased sharply but

is still very high and, for the region as a whole, it is more than

double the world average.

Water use in the region grew from around 1.5 cubic kilometers in 1970 to 2.1

cubic kilometers in 2015.  Total water withdrawals for the region as a whole

grew very slowly, at an annual rate of 0.6 per cent per year

for 1970 –2010 (UNEP 2015).

The per person use of water fell in all sub-regions, especially

between 1970 and 1990, as a result of improved agricultural practices and

industrialization.  The Pacific and Northeast Asia have the lowest per person

water use in the region and Australia and New Zealand have the highest.

Water intensity has decreased rapidly in developing

countries in the region, with a sharp decrease of an average

of 4.4 per cent per annum in Southeast Asia, 3.4 per cent

in Northeast Asia and 3.3 per cent in South Asia compared

to the rest of the world average of 2.4 per cent per year.

Impressive improvements in water efficiency have reduced

water use per US dollar of gross domestic product (GDP) by

90 per cent in developing countries in the region. However,

water intensity in Asia and the Pacific region was almost double the world

average in 2015.

This high water intensity has been recorded mainly in South

and Southeast Asian sub-regions, where economies are

dominated by agriculture, which requires higher volumes of water.

Copy of the Full Report is available here

National Park Service: We need existing flows at (Kailua-Kona’s) Kaloko-Honokohau

May 2016, By Bret YagerWest Hawaii Todaybyager@westhawaiitoday.com

KAILUA-KONA — The National Park Service didn’t provide a requested gallon figure for how much water it needs at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park to sustain its ecosystems and the cultural practices that surround them. But the Park Service did bring the state Commission on Water Resource Management up to speed Thursday on the species that it feels would be threatened by any changes in water salinity due to future pumping of the Keauhou aquifer, which drains to the sea beneath it.

Striped mullet, the damselfly — a candidate for listing under the endangered species act — and rare water birds could all lose habitat if salinity in ponds changes, hydrologist Paula Cutillo said.

The park is experiencing saltwater intrusion, declining rainfall and increased contaminants, Cutillo said.

“Preserving freshwater flows is a natural defense against these changes,” she said.

The National Park Service in 2013 petitioned to designated the aquifer a state water management area, saying that the county does not have adequate controls over pumping to assure that the supply is not over-taxed. The county, lawmakers up to the federal level and local businesses have strongly opposed the designation, saying the aquifer uses are well below its sustained yield, and that adding the extra layer of state red tape isn’t warranted.

Last year, CWRM asked the park to be more specific about its water needs. NPS hydrologists stated at the time that the fishponds and nearshore reefs simply needed all of the water they were currently getting.

See the rest of the article here

UH Gets $20 Million to Study Fresh Water Aquifers

13 May 2016, By Burt Lum, Civil Beat

You won’t find any argument among scientists, policy makers and the general public that fresh water is an extremely important natural resource.

I would argue that clean water is more important than oil, right up there next to clean air. And in Hawaii, we are especially blessed with some of the best water in the world.

Barry Usagawa, the administrator of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s Water Resource Program, told me, “Oahu’s drinking water quality is one of the best in the nation. Our fresh water comes from basal groundwater that is naturally purified, has high clarity and low mineral content, (is) very stable and needs very little treatment.  Oahu’s drinking water is as nature provides it to us.”

Our mauka forests and volcanic soil are well suited as a filtration system for rainwater, as it seeps through to underground freshwater aquifers. This process is slow, taking about 25 years for the rain water to journey through the mountain to form pools, or lenses, on top of salt water pools.

The added salts and minerals in ocean water makes it denser than fresh water, enabling fresh water to float on top of the salt water. That is why it is much easier to swim, float and tread water in the ocean than in a pool. The Honolulu Board of Water Supply pumps the water from these aquifers and distributes it to communities on Oahu.

I, for one, take a lot of this for granted. Turn on the faucet and out comes fresh, clean, spring-like water. The water from my home’s tap tastes like bottled water, so I rarely buy it unless I am prepping for hurricane season. I hardly give our fresh water a second thought and always expect it to be there. But water is a very precious natural commodity.

The National Science Foundation recognized this and awarded the University of Hawaii a five-year, $20 million grant to study the freshwater aquifers. This grant is part of the foundation’s Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research.

See the rest of the column here

 

Protests Don’t Overcome East Maui Water Diversion Bill

 

On Tuesday, there was the usual chanting, music and blowing of conch shells in the Rotunda. But it did not last long, and it wasn’t as intense as during other rallies. The protesters seemed to know the shape of things to come and were already focused on the next battle.

As the Senate neared voting on House Bill 2501 Tuesday, the water-rights bill that will allow Alexander & Baldwin to divert water from East Maui streams for three more years, the protesters gradually took seats in the gallery. By the time the final vote came, they stood, arms extended with fisted hands.

The vote was 17 to 8 in favor, with five of the “ayes” cast with reservations, meaning they weren’t crazy about their votes. HB 2501 cleared the House of Representatives last week, where some lawmakers also expressed their worries about the bill, which now heads to Gov. David Ige for his consideration.

See the rest of the article here