I am sending this message from Kaua’ula valley, as the wife of a kalo farmer here. From what we gather, you have temporarily suspended West Maui’s interim instream flow standard, or IIFS. This IIFS was recently implemented for the well-being of our beloved Lahaina, streams, kalo and native life, all the way down to the waterbed and ocean life. I pray this is temporary and that the IIFS will be restored in full, immediately.

I understand the developer of the agriculture-zoned gentlemen estates nearby and his people have suggested to overrule the IIFS. They say if they were able to fill their reservoirs and Launiupoko fire hydrants, it may have made a difference in Tuesday’s fire, however, those hydrants do not feed Lahaina town. In fact, their system does not benefit Lahaina town in any way. Also, it was way too windy, which means unfortunately, no helicopters could have flown to help extinguish the fires.

Hawai’i’s Commission on Water Resource Management, or CWRM, did extensive research spanning years to gather data and real information to make a well-informed decision that our streams and the waterbed need to be replenished. If you haven’t already seen the data on the sustainable yield of rainfall, take a look. You will see most of the West Side is scarily approaching 100 percent, and some areas, such as Launiupoko, are over 100 percent — meaning we are taking more water than what is being given, and we are depleting our waterbed.

The problem here is inappropriate development and mismanagement of water.

Lauren Palakiko

Lahaina

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