A revocable water-diversion permit for Kauai Island Utility Cooperative’s hydroelectric plants that utilize water from Mount Waialeale was renewed Friday with a 4-3 vote by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
The diversion allows a portion of the water to flow from the North Fork of the Wailua River through a series of ditches to the Upper and Lower Waiahi hydroelectric plants, the Garden Island reports.
The hydros and ditch infrastructure were built in the 1920s by Lihue Plantation Co., and have allowed diversified agriculture to continue in Wailua and Kalepa.
“We are pleased that the holdover was granted and will continue to work with the state in pursuit of a long-term lease for the Blue Hole diversion,” David Bissell, KIUC’s president and chief executive officer, said in a statement.
The permit allows KIUC to operate two hydroelectric plants that generate 1.5 megawatts of energy.
The Kiai Wai O Waialeale coalition, along with community groups Friends of Mahaulepu, HAPA and the Sierra Club, said KIUC and Grove Farm are illegally using 30 million gallons or more of water per day for the hydros, and on days when there’s no rain, the streams are dry.
About 13 Kauai citizens testified against the permit renewal at the hearing in Honolulu, claiming the diversion of six streams by KIUC is illegal.
The groups said the diversion deprives state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries of their rights to live on their land, and many plants and animals of their necessary stream-flow-dependent habitats, including the pupu wa lani or Newcomb snail, which exists only on Kauai and is on the endangered species list.
Bissell said the hydro facilities are KIUC’s lowest-cost source of generation and replace the use of 500,000 gallons of diesel every year. They assist in the delivery of reliable power to around 24,000 customers, virtually every household and business on Kauai.
“These hydroelectric plants are an important component in KIUC’s overall strategy to meet the state of Hawaii’s mandate of reaching 100 percent renewable energy by 2045,” Bissell said.
