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    FINAL 20230810 CWRM W Maui Fire LTR From WMLC

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    Honolulu Star-Advertiser
    I write on behalf of West Maui Land Company, the management company for three of West Maui's water purveyors: Launiupoko Irrigation Company, Launiupoko Water Company, and Olowalu Water Company.

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    FINAL 20230810 CWRM W Maui Fire LTR From WMLC

    Uploaded by

    Honolulu Star-Advertiser
    19K views3 pages
    I write on behalf of West Maui Land Company, the management company for three of West Maui's water purveyors: Launiupoko Irrigation Company, Launiupoko Water Company, and Olowalu Water Company.

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    FINAL 20230810 Cwrm w Maui Fire Ltr From WMLC

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    I write on behalf of West Maui Land Company, the management company for three of West Maui's water purveyors: Launiupoko Irrigation Company, Launiupoko Water Company, and Olowalu Water Company.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    19K views3 pages

    FINAL 20230810 CWRM W Maui Fire LTR From WMLC

    Uploaded by

    Honolulu Star-Advertiser
    I write on behalf of West Maui Land Company, the management company for three of West Maui's water purveyors: Launiupoko Irrigation Company, Launiupoko Water Company, and Olowalu Water Company.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 3

    Deputy Director Manuel

    August 10, 2023


    Page 2

    In re sponse , CWRM aske d us whe the r MFD had re que ste d pe rmission to dip
    into our re se rvoirs and dire cte d us first to inquire with the one downstream
    use r to ensure that his lo'i and othe r use s would not be impacte d by a
    te mporary re duction (not e limination) of wate r supply. Communications were
    spotty, and we had alre ady made a concerted e ffort to contact the one
    downstream use r. He had not responded. By around 3:30 p.m., a flare up had
    shut down the Lahaina Bypass.

    At around 6:00 p.m., we re ce ive d CWRM's approval to dive rt more wate r. By


    the n, we were unable to re ach the siphon re le ase to make the adjustme nts that
    would have allowe d more wate r to fill our re se rvoirs. We watched the
    devastation unfold around us without the ability to he lp. We anxiously awaited
    the morning knowing that we could have made more wate r available to MFD if
    our request had be e n imme diate ly approved.

    Fire s are frequent in We st Maui. As we e xpe rie nce d, a re que st to use water
    from our re se rvoirs to fight a fire must go unme t if we do not have wate r in our
    reservoirs. In an emergency situation, or whe n an e me rge ncy is anticipate d, a
    te mporary re duction (not e limination) of wate r to one individual's farm should
    not be prioritize d ove r and de lay e fforts to save an e ntire community.

    We cannot know whe the r filling our re se rvoirs at 1:00 p.m. (as oppose d to not
    at all) would have changed the headlines whe n dawn broke on our we ary first
    responders and he artbroke n community. We know that fires spread quickly.
    We know that we ne e d to act faste r during an e me rge ncy. We know that the
    community we se rve re lie s on the wate r as a de fense from spre ading fire . We
    know that we must have wate r available for MFD be fore MFD ne e ds it. We
    know we can do be tte r. We 're all in this together.

    As a first ste p, we re spe ctfully re que st that CWRM imme diate ly grant ongoing
    authorization to fill the reservoirs whe n a fire has be e n re porte d in the area
    from Ukumehame to Kahoma. As we are filling the re se rvoirs, we will advise
    MFD and CWRM of our actions and that water is available if needed.

    As a second ste p, we respe ctfully re que st that CWRM immediately suspe nd the
    various inte rim instre am flow standards and othe r re gulations in the area from
    Ukume hame to Kahoma until the e me rge ncy pe riod has e nde d, to ensure
    maximum support for fire suppre ssion, cle an-up e fforts and our community as
    we recover.

    As a third ste p, we re spe ctfully re que st that CWRM imme diate ly initiate
    proce e dings to ame nd the various inte rim instre am flow standards from
    Ukume hame to Honokowai to provide more wate r for fire suppre ssion and our
    community as we face dry months in the ye ars to come and as our community
    Deputy Director Manuel
    August 10, 2023
    Page 3

    rebuilds. I know you love this community, t oo. We are all devast at ed. No one is
    happy there was water in the streams while our homes, our businesses, our
    lands, and our lives were reduced to ash. We cannot suffer t he risk t hat it will
    happen again.

    �:2
    Regards,

    CC: Josh Green, Governor


    Dawn N. S. Chang, Chair
    Nani Medeiros, Chief Housing Officer

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