LIHU‘E — What started as a County Council meeting on how agencies regulate Kaua‘i’s water ended in an admonishment of state politicians by council chair Mel Rapozo, as he accused Gov. Josh Green and the Hawai‘i Legislature of failing to provide sufficient funds for state and county water management groups.
Representatives of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), Commission on Water Resource Management (CWRM) and Kaua‘i Department of Water (DOW) met with the council on Wednesday to discuss each agency’s aims, future and collaborative efforts in protecting and utilizing Kaua‘i’s water resources. Throughout their presentations though, the representatives made note of several funding and staffing issues within each department.
Speaking to the council members, CWRM Deputy Director Kaleo Manuel spoke to the importance of the commission, noting its kuleana of serving as “the primary guardian of the public trust of water.”
However, he lamented that the commission’s staffing is capped at 23 positions, including his, making it difficult for CWRM to adequately respond to water issues as they arise.
“That’s it,” Manuel said. “And so, I’ve been constantly advocating for increasing the capacity of this agency. …With 23 staff, we really rely on others that touch water to help support us in achieving our mission to protect the public trust.”
Kaua‘i Department of Water Manager and Chief Engineer Joe Tait echoed Manuel’s sentiment, noting that staffing issues have made it difficult for the department to sufficiently operate.
Responsible for 60 storage tanks, over 400 miles of pipeline and more than 24,000 service connections across the island, the department provides water services to thousands of Kaua‘i residents daily.
Despite having 119 authorized positions though, 30 of those remain vacant — several of which are critical engineering positions. Tait argued that insufficient salaries compared with the island’s cost of living, coupled with expensive and limited housing options, has made employee hiring and retention nearly impossible tasks.
“It’s very difficult to recruit folks who can live somewhere else cheaper and can work somewhere else for more money,” said Tait adding that several of the department’s employees currently work in several DOW positions.
Additionally, Tait told the council members that the department is “a couple of decades” behind in replacing aging infrastructure, including pipes over 100 years old, due largely to limited funding.
And while the department is currently committed to replacing 24 meters of pipeline, Tait said the department’s vacant positions has significantly slowed their progress.
“That is not a fast process with the number of staff that we have,” he said.
In response to the presenters, Rapozo directed a message to state legislators and Green, expressing sympathy for the agencies and scolding the politicians for perceived underfunding of water management services.
“We hear the cliche all the time, ‘Water is a piko. Water is life. Without water, we have nothing.’ It’s true. And when I heard the presentation today from CWRM and I saw their funding, it’s a freaking joke,” Rapozo said.
“How do we expect you guys to deal with all these issues? Now I understand why we get so many complaints from the constituents about CWRM. You physically cannot get it done. You try. You physically cannot get it done. Then I hear from the Department of Water — hiring, retention (issues). How do we get our stuff done?”
Rapozo continued, encouraging state politicians to come to a County Council meeting to discuss why these agencies lack additional funds.
“We can’t even get them here,” he said. “I want them right here, so I can ask them, ‘What are you guys trying to do? Kill ag? Is that what you guys want to do, just kill ag on Kaua‘i forever? Again, I go back to the money — don’t tell me we don’t have the money. It’s a priority issue, it’s not a money issue. So I want them here, so the public can hear them. It’s pathetic.”
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Jackson Healy, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-4966 or jhealy@thegardenisland.com.
