The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Maui County Council on Oct. 25, 2024.
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Oct. 25, 2024, 9 a.m.
Council Chamber, Kalana O Maui Building
To: Maui County Council
Alice Lee, Chair
Yuki Lei Sugimura, Vice-Chair
From: Joe Kent, Executive Vice President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
RE: BILL 153 — RELATING TO PRIVATE WATER CATCHMENT SYSTEMS
Aloha Chair Lee, Vice-Chair Sugimura and other members of the Council,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 153 (2024), which would legalize private water catchment systems of up to 30,000 gallons in agricultural and rural zoning districts. The measure also would exempt such catchment systems from needing a building permit.
Expanding the type of water systems Maui residents can use to collect and distribute water would assist the island’s agricultural development and housing efforts.
On Hawaii Island, many residents rely on water catchment systems for their potable water and for irrigation.[1] These systems make sense for many of the wetter parts of the Big Island, and they could make sense for certain areas on Maui as well.
Legalizing water catchment systems would give farmers and ranchers the opportunity to use whatever water system works for their particular parcels.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Joe Kent
Executive Vice President
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Patricia Macomber, “Guidelines on Rainwater Catchment Systems for Hawai‘i,” College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, 2020, p. 3.
