WikiWai Maui

09/15/2026

Note the lowest rainfall in five years was March 2025 -- and the highest rainfall in five years was March 2026. https://www.hawaii.edu/climate-data-portal/climate-summary/ #/

09/12/2026

WE’RE CELEBRATING 50 YEARS!

50 YEARS OF BUILDING COMMUNITY, PROTECTING WAI & ʻĀINA

For five decades, Sierra Club Maui Group has worked alongside our community to protect Maui’s forests, streams, coastlines, wildlife, and the places we all love. Now it’s time to celebrate!

Join us for an afternoon of music, food, community, and conservation as we honor the people and partnerships that have shaped our first 50 years—and look ahead to the next 50.

Saturday, October 10, 2026
11 AM–3 PM
Private Farm, Haʻikū
Location details provided after RSVP

The celebration will feature:
Live music
Community potluck lunch
Environmental Heroes Awards
50-year history display
Community partner booths
Silent auction featuring unique Maui experiences
Educational exhibits and activities
…and plenty of time to reconnect and celebrate!

PLEASE CARPOOL! Parking at the farm is limited, so we strongly encourage everyone to share rides whenever possible. A parking pass will be emailed to registered attendees and must be printed and displayed for entry.
RSVP IS REQUIRED:
👉 bit.ly/4glGhbu

Want to support our work while scoring an amazing Maui experience? Check out our 50th Anniversary Silent Auction:
👉 scmg.betterworld.org

We’d also love your help! We’re looking for volunteers, potluck contributions, silent auction donations, and nonprofit/community organizations interested in hosting a booth.
📧 [email protected]

Come celebrate 50 years of community, conservation, and mālama ʻāina with us!

09/09/2026

Kalikookalani Teruya representing Hawaii's youth "because we are the future and the ones most vulnerable to your decisions."

Listen to every minute of this powerful testimony.

09/05/2026

09/05/2026

09/04/2026

Testimony of Kai Kahele, Chair of OHA Board of Trustees before the Board of Land and Natural Resources on August 14:

64% of voters supported creating the East Maui Water Authority. They asked for a different future for their wai. We should give them that future. An opportunity to succeed, not foreclose on it for the next thirty years. Unfortunately, this staff submittal and this thrity year proposal fall short of our shared constitutional and public trust duties and that is why you do not need to decide the next thirty years today. Allow the contested case to proceed, allow the evidentiary record to be completed, allow Maui County and East Maui communities the opportunity to build the public governance structure Maui voters asked for, and preserve this board’s ability to make the decision later based upon a complete record rather than binding an entire generation today.

Seven years ago I believed that East Maui deserves a better path. I still do.

09/03/2026

But an important question sits at the center of everything: Is there enough water for South Maui?

This is not a rhetorical question. It is not an abstract planning question. Today, according to the Department of Water Supply, South Maui’s potable water system is operating at roughly 98% capacity. That number alone should give us pause. It means we are essentially running our water system at full throttle, with no margin for drought, well failures, infrastructure issues, or unexpected demand. It also means that any new development must be evaluated with extraordinary care.

Is There Enough Water for South Maui? By John Laney 09/02/2026 South Maui is standing at the edge of a major transformation. Wailea 670, Makena Mauka, and the Ledcor project are all pos…

09/02/2026

Many streams in the Haiku area (from Maliko Gulch to Ke’anae) are used recreationally as well as for domestic or agricultural purposes, but very little is known about the quality of the water in these streams. In 2024, the Haiku Community Association, in partnership with Maui County, the Friends of Twin Falls, Surfrider, and the University of Hawai’i Water Resources Research Center, began sampling four popular Haiku streams. By tracking water quality over time, this effort helps provide the community with accessible information about stream health and supports informed stewardship of these important water resources.

09/02/2026

DLNR uses the lack of ownership of a portion of one ditch as its reason to deny county management, even as they ignore the fundamental questions of ownership of the majority of the EMI System.

Ownership also matters to all beneficiaries of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), and the public.

Even if a license is issued to dba Mahi Pono, under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 30% of revenues from these licenses go to DHHL, and 20% to OHA because the revenues derive from “ceded” lands. The remaining 50% goes to the public.

If the state owns more of the ditch system than it currently recognizes, the license price should be much higher.

Perhaps most importantly, this confusion about ownership reflects a fundamental problem with the current bodies controlling the crown lands.

If BLNR, DLNR, and dba Mahi Pono do not even know what is owned on these lands, how well are they stewarding them for the future?

The EMI remains central to how water moves across Maui. Before BLNR decides who should control it, they should first establish who actually owns it.

Four times over the last two years, proposals have been placed on the agenda of the state’s Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) authorizing a 30-year East Maui water license to a foreign corporation.

09/01/2026

"By moving at the speed of trust, every incremental milestone, from advancing financial literacy to employing cultural knowledge to upgrading water systems, moves us closer to a more equitable, sustainable and resilient future."
‍
-Gina Young
Director, East Maui Water Authority

Link to the East Maui Water Authority Action Plan here, which endeavors to summarize select Workshop findings that reflect the collective input of Workshop participants and areas that could form the basis for EMWA to adopt new practices and take action, in alignment with its objectives. Rooted in the core commitment to equity, EMWA considers this to be an Action Plan for community-centered decision-making.

In October 2025, the Public Finance Initiative (PFI) partnered with the East Maui Water Authority (EMWA) to convene the "East Maui Water Authority Community Workshops: From Vision to Implementation" (the "Workshops") in Keʻanae, Wailuku, and Haʻikū to gather input on priorities for the water syst...