KAHULUI – The state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers invite public review of the Draft West Maui Watershed Plan: Kahana, Honokahua and Honolua Watersheds Characterization Report.
The purpose of the report is to evaluate watershed processes and determine land uses and activities that may generate nonpoint source pollutants and alter hydrologic and ecological processes in these three watersheds.
The report is posted on the West Maui Ridge 2 Reef Initiative website at www.westmauir2r.com/watershed-management-plans.html.
Comments are requested by Monday, April 13, 2015 and can be submitted via e-mail to [email protected] or by mail to Group 70 International, Attn: West Maui, 925 Bethel St., Fifth Floor, Honolulu, HI 96813.
This report is the first of two for the Kahana, Honokahua and Honolua watersheds.
The characterization document provides the basis for the follow-up Watershed Strategies and Implementation Report, which will propose management measures to assist in mitigating land-based sources of pollutants that adversely affect water quality and the health of the coral reef ecosystem.
The second report will be released later this year and also include a public comment period.
Together, the two reports for the Kahana, Honokahua, and Honolua watersheds, and the previously published Wahikuli-Honokowai Watershed Management Plan, are part of the larger West Maui Ridge 2 Reef Initiative focusing management efforts across all five watersheds. These plans identify short-term solutions to address land-based sources of pollution and will be incorporated into a Department of Land and Natural Resources- and U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-sponsored West Maui Watershed Plan that proposes a recommended strategy to address long-term impacts to the coral reef ecosystem health throughout the five watersheds.