2019-01-23 Meeting Minutes (EMC)

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closer to $70 million currently. Commissioner Gaffney said the state should help with the cost, as it ultimately benefits the desire to increase agriculture in Hawaiʻi. Director Kucharski said the salinity of the water needs to be reduced—the system should be changed so they get less sea water intrusion. They also need to plan for more R- 1 facilities further north, where there will most likely be more development. Commissioner Gaffney said he harps on it because the ag park and HELCO next to it are massive users of our freshwater resources. If they could be broken of that habit and use cheaper water, everybody would win. Director Kucharski said the more water they recycle, the less demand there will be on the aquifers. Part of the sustainability goal is to make the reuse more prevalent and to reuse as much as they can. Commissioner Gaffney said he would like follow-up on the legislation, and Director Kucharski said he follows all the environmental legislation that affects his department and submits comments. He can provide copies of his comment letters. Commissioner Olson said water reuse was discussed in the County many years ago, and it kept getting put off. Nobody got the funding. For his Puna District, the concern is closing all the cesspools and replacing them with systems people can afford. Puna has large lot sizes, and some composting toilets have been approved. They can contact Dr. Weatherford if they want to learn more about that, as he has gotten two systems approved. However, it always comes down to the money. Commissioner Pequeño said the main barriers in the report for water reuse seem to be regulatory, financial, social, and infrastructure. For infrastructure, he would recommend they look into the opportunity zones that have been designated on the Big Island, which are the most urbanized areas of Hilo, Panaewa, and Kona. There are tax incentives for private investment and development in these areas, and the County could try to influence implementing water reuse in them. Director Kucharski said that water reuse in a tropical rain forest ecosystem is not particularly beneficial to anyone. The demand is significantly higher in drier areas. Chair Bennett had several comments: • It is distressing that we have institutional barriers that hinder R-1 water development. It is understandable to him from a regulatory perspective, but not from a resource perspective. • Do not expect the agricultural community to jump at using R-1 water. An incentive system needs to be created. What started out in Petaluma and Santa Rosa at a huge cost turned into a very successful money maker, irrigating 7,000+ acres of arid pastureland and vineyards with tertiary, or R-1 water. That approach needs to be considered here. When the EPA granted the County of Hawaiʻi about $50 million to extend the sewer line down Aliʻi Drive to Queen Kalama, there was a reuse component in the contract that the water was to be reclaimed. This has not happened.