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• Okay? When you're an engineer who's good at designing and expanding wells and <br />water delivery systems, that becomes the glasses through which you view the world <br />and in our discussions in the Waimea Water Round Table and it's a good process and <br />I'm really glad that I'm invited and play a part in that, I asked Mr. Pavao, and I brought it <br />up in there, that if we're in a time of tight budgets in government, it's important for us to <br />look at least cost solutions to our County's needs, whether they're businesses or <br />residences or whatever our needs are, it's really important to look at least cost options. <br />Okay, if you're an engineer that's drilling wells and building pipelines, that's your only <br />solution and you don't look at water efficiency. You don't look at other least cost <br />solutions that are being implemented as we speak, around the country by forward <br />thinking people who don't have a supply mentality. The demand side management can <br />yield more water for less cost and yet the County government has no mechanism for <br />actually doing those evaluations and that's why I've advocated in print, an integrated <br />water resource management planning process and that will eventually come to this <br />island because the County Department of Water Supply now does not look at the least <br />cost options and all the public input and accountability that goes into what would be an <br />integrated water resource plan and planning process. And so again, the process is <br />important and that this be implemented and I guess it's going to be funded by the State <br />government after they're done with Oahu. Anyway, so the Manager should be able to <br />hire the engineers he needs but he needs to direct policy and be able to do <br />assessments and financial assessments of the least cost ways to supply water needs <br />• and not necessarily how to build more pipelines to provide the water services. Our <br />needs aren't in terms of gallons per day. Our needs are in terms of cold water to drink <br />and water for our crops. I have a nursery business so you know I'm very concerned that <br />agricultural water be available but at a least cost and that the total array of options be <br />mandated by the planning process. <br />• <br />Under Section 8-5. Administrative Supervision. Department of Water Supply. I <br />would like to see that come under the general supervision and control of the County <br />Council just because if the Water Commission is then appointed by the Council or by <br />election, then have the Department of Water Supply be under the supervision of the <br />Council because it means more accountability. Right now they're semi -autonomous. <br />They have their own water fund which I'm not against necessarily. I don't understand <br />the water fund as well as I might so I'm not going to make a recommendation at this <br />time on how that's structured. I do know that the Department of Water Supply also has <br />a policy of maintaining the same rates for water, no matter what community you live in. <br />You still pay X dollars per thousand gallons whether you live in an old community like <br />Pahala where the water has been implemented years ago and is very inexpensive, and <br />a new system that may cost tens of, or at least several millions of dollars, to bring water <br />to some of the newer areas of the county and there's no necessary reason that I can <br />see that the water rates paid by particular users need to be the same if the costs of the <br />counties are different, or one part of the county - if it costs more to develop water in <br />Kona, maybe the Kona people should pay more water than in Hilo. Right now, I don't <br />20 <br />