HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	153
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

Requesting The Commission on Water Resource Management to Examine the allocation of Water in West Maui AND IN EMERGENCY SITUATIONS THROUGHOUT THE STATE.

WHEREAS, as a result of the wildfire that devastated Lahaina on August 8, 2023, approximately two thousand two hundred structures--eighty-six percent of which were residential--were destroyed, resulting in approximately six thousand individuals becoming homeless; and

WHEREAS, the water formerly supplying those six thousand residents and two thousand two hundred structures had not been utilized for the past six months; and

WHEREAS, the United States Army Corps of Engineers has cleared over two hundred fifty lots in Lahaina and anticipates clearing two hundred lots per month; and

WHEREAS, with a permanent debris-disposal site having been confirmed, the rebuilding of homes and other structures can begin soon; and

WHEREAS, the Villages of Leialii development project, administered by the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, will provide two hundred housing units in Lahaina; and

WHEREAS, historically in West Maui, private landowners have been diverting streams and digging wells for their own needs, including the servicing of resorts and hotels, essentially privatizing water resources; and

WHEREAS, the Commission on Water Resource Management has jurisdiction over the protection, conservation, and management of the State's water resources; allocation of the State's water resources; and resolution of water-related disputes; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, that the Commission on Water Resource Management is requested to examine the allocation of water in West Maui and in emergency situations throughout the State, including:

(1) The sources, management, and utilization of water for Lahaina and the rest of West Maui; and

(2) An analysis of how decisions regarding water allocation in West Maui, the island of Maui, and the rest of the State should be made in the future to improve timely responses during emergency situations that involve the need for water and to ensure that private entities do not wield more power than the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Commission on Water Resource Management is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2025; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Acting Deputy Director for Water Resource Management.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Commission on Water Resource Management; Water Allocation; West Maui