08-26-2008, 01:41 PM
For awhile now, and prior to the drought, development has been stalled in North Kohala in part due to inadequate water supply. County water covers Hawi and eastward (although not sure if it goes all the way to Pololu). On the leeward side, there is only private well water.
Waikoloa Village runs off a private water company.
Kohala Ranch and Kohala Estates do too, expensive water compared to County.
Puakea Bay area was slated to get a golf course but it would have put pressure on the two subdivisions above.
On the windward side of North Kohala, the County was refusing to issue water meters to new subdivisions (or only the most special). There are thousands of acres up there owned by Surety Kohala, which is a Japanese corporation that bought up the old Kohala Sugar Mill land. They would love to over-develop that area, but for water and to some extent the moratorium on changing Ag zoning to allow smaller parcels.
Water is a big deal; however, considering there are no County pipes taking water to much of Kohala, I'm not sure that the water is easily distributed to those areas, rain or no rain.
The County has two wells serving North Kohala windward, both of which were out of order at the same time back last October, the weekend of the Kohala County Fair, because one had been down and then a part failed on the other. (I was there.) Wells, not a system of water mains connecting to the rest of the island.
What I'm trying to say is that the distribution infrastructure is lacking for some of the desired developments. And the rain that falls on my property (north of Hilo) doesn't go anywhere "useful." It drains out to the ocean. The important rain would be the rain that feeds the reservoirs, right? Is it accurate to say that all building and tree-cutting has an effect on that specific rain?
Not trying to be argumentative. I really don't know.
I have too many trees, mostly African tulip trees, and I think thinning them would be a good thing, but not to worry, I can't afford to do it.
Waikoloa Village runs off a private water company.
Kohala Ranch and Kohala Estates do too, expensive water compared to County.
Puakea Bay area was slated to get a golf course but it would have put pressure on the two subdivisions above.
On the windward side of North Kohala, the County was refusing to issue water meters to new subdivisions (or only the most special). There are thousands of acres up there owned by Surety Kohala, which is a Japanese corporation that bought up the old Kohala Sugar Mill land. They would love to over-develop that area, but for water and to some extent the moratorium on changing Ag zoning to allow smaller parcels.
Water is a big deal; however, considering there are no County pipes taking water to much of Kohala, I'm not sure that the water is easily distributed to those areas, rain or no rain.
The County has two wells serving North Kohala windward, both of which were out of order at the same time back last October, the weekend of the Kohala County Fair, because one had been down and then a part failed on the other. (I was there.) Wells, not a system of water mains connecting to the rest of the island.
What I'm trying to say is that the distribution infrastructure is lacking for some of the desired developments. And the rain that falls on my property (north of Hilo) doesn't go anywhere "useful." It drains out to the ocean. The important rain would be the rain that feeds the reservoirs, right? Is it accurate to say that all building and tree-cutting has an effect on that specific rain?
Not trying to be argumentative. I really don't know.
I have too many trees, mostly African tulip trees, and I think thinning them would be a good thing, but not to worry, I can't afford to do it.