The sound of water flowing into a taro patch in Kauaʻula Valley would not have been possible immediately after the wildfires.
The State Water Code was quickly suspended, along with the protections that taro farmers like Charlie Palakiko have fought for decades to secure.
"It's hard for go all those years, get somewhere, and then all of that is just taken away, just like that," he said while snapping his fingers. "Just like that."
The suspension was followed by statements from the governor questioning whether communities fighting to keep water in their streams were interfering with fire-fighting efforts.
Then there was the removal of water deputy Kaleo Manuel, which sparked outrage from Lahaina residents like Kanoe Steward.
"No laila, ‘o kēia ala o ka hoʻokaʻawale ʻia ana, he ala i hiki i ke Komisina ke malama i ko lākou kuleana hoʻokahi ma ka mālama piha ʻana i ka wai," Steward said.
Steward said the proposal for an independent Water Commission would allow the entity to focus on effectively managing water as a public trust.
Senate Bill 3327 aims to get the politics out of water management and policy, explained Earthjustice attorney Elena Bryant.
"The bill would restructure the leadership of the Water Commission so that the DLNR chair, who is a political appointee, cannot also chair the Water Commission," Bryant said.
"It would transform the deputy into an executive director who reports to the whole Water Commission and this would further reduce political influences from the DLNR chair or the governorʻs administration," she continued.
The measure introduced by state Sen. Lorraine Inouye would also increase penalties for water code violations, empower the commission to declare an emergency and underscore the commission’s public trust kuleana.
"A lot of the bill seeks to implement recommendations of a review commission report that was issued in 1994. A comprehensive review of the state water code five years after its enactment," Bryant said.
"A seven-member commission held multiple public informational meetings, public hearings throughout the state, and 30 years ago it issued a 200-plus page report with recommendations for improving the water code," she said.
DLNR testified mostly in support of the changes. But the agency did have concerns, as did the state Attorney General’s office, about the Water Commission retaining independent counsel.
If the measure passes, Bryant said the changes would help prevent a repeat of what happened in West Maui.
"You know the community is tired of policing the Water Commission and urging it to do its job. And this bill really helps to insulate the commission from political interference and political retribution so that the Water Commission staff can do their job," she said.
SB 3327 was approved unanimously by the Senate Committees on Water and Land, and Public Safety and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs.
The measure now awaits a hearing by the Senate Committees on Ways and Means, and the Judiciary.
