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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0391.002 2018-2020 PIAWUNC, Oom m . 3q f VHCA&KKWA Testimony to County Council's AWEEMC 8/3/2019 Vacationland Hawaii Community Association (VHCA), PO Box 7086, Hilo, HI 96720 Kapoho Kai Water Association,(KKWA), PO Box 7082, Hilo, HI 96720 August 3,2019; Chair Richards and Members of the AWEEMC Hawaii County Council e 25 Aupuni Street,Suite 1402 Hilo, HI 96720 CD-� Subject: COMM 391-Recovery of Water Resources in the LERZ: 1:00 PM August 6,2019 Aloha Chair and Members of the AWEEMC; We greatly appreciate the County Council's request for a status update from the Department of Water Supply(DWS)regarding their efforts to plan and implement the recovery of water resources in the lava inundated areas of the Lower-East Rift Zone(LERZ). The members of the Vacationland Hawaii Community Assn(VHCA) and the Kapoho Kai Water Assn (KKWA) have been actively pursuing this same information for the last two months first meeting with Hawaii Volcano Observatory USGS staff(Tina Neal and others) and with the DWS. We also visited the Board of Water Supply(BWS) at their June 24th meeting to request an update as there.wasnothing in their June monthly status report regarding the FEMA 428 application for recovery funds which their department engineer had assured us had been submitted. The DWS and BWS accommodated our request at their July 23`d meeting putting together a short presentation provided to their board and members of the VHCA and KKWA who attended. Although we requested that a copy of the PowerPoint be shared via email,that has yet to happen. We are encouraged that the DWS is studying the issue regarding how to again provide County water to the Pohoiki area and Issac Hale Park,as well as to the communities of Vacationland and Kapoho Beach Lots. The original distribution fed by the Pahoa well initiated at the Lanipuna Gardens cement reservoir Which was not covered by lava, then was piped down to Pohoiki in some cases crossing private lands, and was finally piped north along Hwy 137 to terminate in Lower Kapoho where another concrete reservoir on Green Mountain survived the lava inundation. These reservoirs are needed to reduce pressure that occurs due to the change of elevation between source and usage. In the case of Vacationland, County water was the source for both the House Lots and Farm Lots originating in an initial agreement made around 1999-2000. In that agreement,the DWS is committed to'providing water resources in perpetuity. Given that Vacationland Farm Lot and House Lot owners of the 3001 parcels comprising the subdivision have signaled their desire to return to their properties to resume farming operations and actively inhabit the subdivision,a reliable, high quality source of water is needed to support that recovery. While soil is in short supply on'a recent lava flow, above ground crops have a distinct advantage given the eradication of many pathogens and pests. It is envisioned that orchids, hydroponics, aquaculture, aquaponics, apiaries and certain types of livestock can be successfully raised on these properties with the addition of a reliable water source. We appreciate the information provided by the DWS in the presentation they made to the BWS on July 23`d and anticipate the same information will be shared with the County Council. While the DWS has Comm.mo. l 1 Ref. To: IN Ref. Dote i LICA KKWA Testimony to County Council's AWEEMC 8/3/2019 tested one well along Pohoiki Road that previously had acceptable water quality only to find it is no longer usable, additional research is needed to test the hypothesis that the 2018 fissures that erupted along the LERZ created a dike that, along with theimpermeable surface created by the lava,has resulted in the aquifer not recharging. While this may explain the situation with respect to the well tested on Pohoiki Road, it is inadequate evidence to affirm the hypothesis and does not provide additional information as to where in Lower Kapoho'region good quality well water might be sourced. The scientists of the HVO, in particular Jim Kauahikaua;expressed great interest in having a better understanding of the impacts of this and past lava events on the hydrology of the Kapoho- Pohoiki area. We hope that DWS will pursue test wells in that area.VHCA and KKWA can assist by identifying private and public land locations to carryout such research by dropping exploratory wells. Again, we wish to thank Council Member Ashley.Kierkiewicz for requesting this presentation to the County Council,as well as the DWS for being proactive in sharing their planning efforts with the public. Mahalo for your attention to this matter, Deb Smith, President VHCA j. . Ji Lehner,Treasurer VHCA& KKWA J\il-ehner, cc: Keith Okamoto, Director, DWS Kurt Inaba, Engineer, DWS 2