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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0414.007 2016-2018 opposing Bill 65: Keauhou provisions for Hawaii County Water Use And Development Plan for Agriculture,Water, and Energy Sustainability Committee 10:30 AM Tuesday, September 19, 2017, Kona chambers from Cory Harden, Hilo c '` Mahalo to the Water Department and Fukunaga consultants for their work on this plan. 1.7 But, unfortunately, in the 80-plus pages in the plan, I found only ,;® - • two pages on water recycling • one page on watershed protection • a few paragraphs on conservation (leak detection, low-flow fixtures, etc.) . • nothing on drought planning t So I agree with those who say the plan needs to be re-worked. The goal must not be ever-increasing supplies of water, but water sustainability. To achieve this, County Council needs to ensure coordination • between departments o Water Department o Department of Environmental Management, for water recycling o Building and Planning Departments, for building code changes and watershed protection • among initiatives o re-working of the water plan (today's Bill 65) o audit of Water Department contingency plans (Resolution 287-17) o task force on the failure of deep well equipment o plans of State Commission on Water Resource Management The Council should also • Ask about stream diversions—environmental and cultural impacts, and the process for deciding when they are allowed • Require plans to ensure that people on catchment have safe water, and avoid hazards like rat lungworm disease. Saying "you're on your own" is not right, and it's not working. • Require stronger watershed protection. Note that— o The Planning Department recently approved plans to chop down an old-growth forest and watershed at Waikaku'u. It was only saved because concerned citizens, the Misslers, went to the Board of Appeals and then to court, paying the legal fees. o The County Game Management Commission, which receives County funding, repeatedly opposes fencing to prevent ungulates from destroying forests. • Prohibit water guzzlers like golf courses and water bottling plants. • Require consideration of waterless toilets o composting toilets o incinerating toilets o aerobic digesters like Biofil o anaerobic digesters like Bioloo, and an anaerobic digester in Kenya that produces biogas o LooWatt,which generates biogas or fertilizer Please see also my attached comments, on Communication 349 re.the September 6 Water Department report on well failures. c� No. 4LjL/. I Ref. To:._e/ ff Ref. Date_se SEP 19 2017 comments on Communication 349.0: water update for Hawaii County Council Agriculture,Water, and Energy Sustainability Committee 10:45 AM Wednesday, September 6, 2017, Hilo chambers from Gory Harden First of all, kudos to Water Department staff for their tireless work to supply water to Kona. I hope this emergency will lead to comprehensive changes in County water policy. That can start today, and more can happen in a few weeks through Bill 65 on the water use plan. I'll be summarizing ideas from Steve Holmes. He's a former Honolulu City Council rnernber,former board member of Sierra Club Moku Loa group, and former Kona resident. But I'm not an expert—just relaying ideas as best I can. One reason pumps for deep-water wells are failing is that sucking through a really long straw is hard work. We need to change our focus from pumping more water,to using less water. We need water planning, drought planning, and water recycling. WATER PLANNING We could require that all Water Plan updates incorporate sustainable water planning. The Environmental Protection Agency could do a workshop on sustainable water reforms, including model ordinances and case studies. Rural development grants could help hire experts. DROUGHT PLANNING Climate change may cause more drouQhtm. Planning must begin long before the step of temporary water restrictions. O'ahu has a drought plan we could study. WATER RECYCLING Models Water recycling is already happening at the University of Hawai'i Palamanui campus and Kona Airport. Organization Department of Environmental Management and Department of Water Supply could plan together for water recycling. Maui County has a separate water reuse division. Codes Other counties have building codes that require low-flow water fixtures, and we could do that too. Our plumbing code could be changed to facilitate irrigation with greywater recycling. Other County actions A reuse district could be created, somewhat like a sewer district. All County facilities could install low-flow devices. New subdivisions could be required to build water recycling into their plans. Rebates could encourage large water users to use water efficiency technology. Dry wells could be replaced by rain gardens and constructed wetlands to allow greywater recycling. We could do sewer mining—you pipe into an existing sewer line, run the water through a package plant, then use it for irrigation. You save money by not pumping water to the main sewer plant. Funding Funding sources for water and wastewater infrastructure include US Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Service and the State Revolving Fund. Capital improvement funds, instead of limited operating funds, could be used to hire consulting engineers to manage recycling construction projects. The Safe Water Drinking Act could fund v rebates to retrofit toilets and ahovverhmedato use less water w leak detection programs to reduce water line losses for the County and homeowners Private funding Kohala coast hotels contract out water recycling. O'ahu uses private/public partnerships. Recycled water can be sold. Recycled water can be kept in reservoirs or tanks to create water pressure. Recycled water can store energy—by day, use solar energy to pump it uphill.At night, run it downhill to generate electricity. .......... In short, there are a lot of ways to stop flushing away taxpayer money.