HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0721.006 2012-2014 National Park Service Kaloko-Honokohau 734786 Kanalani Street#14
HATONAL U.S.Department of the interior National Historical Park Kailua-Kona,Hawai'i 96740
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Kaloko-H®ffi®JIX-®hail COUNTY CLERK
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March 18 2014 RECEIVED
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Aloha Chairwoman Wille and Committee Members:
Mahalo for this opportunity to speak to you. My name is Jeff Zimpfer, and I am the
Environmental Protection Specialist at Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. I have
worked on issues impacting Hawaii Island's aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems for the last 10
years. I attended last month's meeting of the County Council when the National Park Service
presented background information on the petition to designate the Keauhou Aquifer System a
water management area. I would like to quickly update you on two items that came up during
that meeting.
The first item concerns where and how water-related data collected by the National Park Service
and other entities in Kaloko-Honokohau can be accessed. To begin with,water level and water
quality conditions have been recorded in this area since as far back as 1963. Fortunately,much of
it is available in published reports. The petition filed by the NPS in September 2013 cites much
of these data and contains references and direct.links to the data. These references and links,
along with additional sources of data, can also be found in a table compiled last February by the
NPS in response to requests for data from the Water Commission. This table has since been
updated and distributed to you and other stakeholders following last month's meeting. It is now
available on our park website, along with the petition.
The other item I wanted to follow-up on is the issue of water pollution. Our goal is to maintain
and protect the ecological integrity of Park waters including the anchialine pools,the fishponds,
and the nearshore environment, so the mission of preserving the biological and cultural resources
within the Park, along with providing these resources for the public's enjoyment, can occur in
perpetuity. West Hawaii's climate and geology are unique. We do not have true soils,we are
very dry, and we dispose of stormwater via drywells. Many of the Best Management Practices
designed for other locations may not work here. We are fortunate because unlike most of the
other main Hawaiian island reef ecosystems, our reefs are relatively healthy. In order to
maintain our healthy fish,plants and wildlife,we need to fully analyze the potential impacts of
development,develop effective methods for non-point source pollution prevention and devise
wastewater and stormwater treatment systems that have low environmental impacts. Monitoring
for early warning signs of impacts from pollution on our aquatic ecosystems will benefit all of
West Hawaii. To protect the health of our waters here in West Hawaii, we need regulations that
protect our aquatic ecosystems along with better enforcement of our current regulations. The
National Park Service has, and will continue to,work with the state, county and local commui City
to achieve these goals.
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