The state Commission on Water Resource Management just approved an Oʻahu-specific plan to guide water use until 2040.
This week the water commission approved the East Honolulu Watershed Management Plan, which estimates the region’s future water needs and management challenges. It also considers a number of factors, including environmental health, traditional Hawaiian management principles and community input.
The plan is part of an ongoing update to the larger, statewide Hawaiʻi Water Plan that hasn’t been changed in about 25 years.
The state water plan is meant to serve as a long-term guide for CWRM. The commission is in charge of making decisions to protect, manage and regulate ground and surface freshwater in the state.
“ Per the water code, planning really is intended to take a central role in future understanding of water resource availability and how we address issues and challenges, and that's really what the Hawaiʻi Water Plan and its component parts are intended to do — provide that roadmap for the future,” said Katie Roth, manager with CWRM’s Hydrologic Planning Program at a commission meeting.
The approved East Honolulu plan is one of eight regional plans on Oʻahu that contribute to the statewide water plan.
Several others are in the middle of updates to reflect the changing water needs of the state.
The CWRM-approved plan estimates the Honolulu Board of Water Supply will need just over 150 million gallons of water per day in 2040, which is about 10 million gallons more than what was needed in 2010.
The change reflects an expectation that Oʻahu's population will grow by 15% by 2040.
In written testimony, BWS supported the plan and said it “identifies sustainable policies, projects and strategies for climate change, sea level rise, nearshore water quality, water conservation, maintaining traditional and customary practices, flooding and drainage, access to mauka and makai areas and wildfires in East Honolulu.”
