HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – The latest battle in the Maui water wars is putting one of the most famous golf courses in the world at risk.
The owners of the Kapalua golf courses, together with farmers and homeowners, are suing Maui Land and Pineapple Company for failing to maintain the water system they depend on.
The company says its trying to manage water in a severe drought.
The dry conditions at the Kapalua Plantation Course have put January’s Sentry Golf Tournament, the kick-off event for the PGA tour, in jeopardy.
Alex Nakashima, Kapalua general manager of golf, says the course is still playable but they have had to offer discounts because of the conditions.
He is worried that the water shortage could render the course unplayable if it continues much longer.
“Every minute it’s going brown,” he said. “We have the experts on the ground, but we can’t manage water. We can’t manage golf course without any water.”
Once the course becomes unplayable, he said it will be “extremely difficult” to host the Sentry tournament. He says closing the course would cost 300 jobs and harm the local economy.
The Plantation and Bay courses depend on water from an old plantation diversion ditch system in Honokohau Valley. The system was built for pineapple and is still owned by Maui Land and Pineapple Company, which is now not diverting enough water from the streams.
The water from the ditch is distributed by Hawaii Water Service, which has issued alerts essentially banning use of non-potable water for irrigation due to drought conditions and the need to preserve water in reservoirs for firefighting.
Gary Grube is founder of Hua Momona Farms, a big player in Lahaina fire relief because it plans to provide new trees and sod grass at discount prices for Lahaina homes and fresh vegetables for its popular free meals program
“To take it away, it’s frightening when I get the alerts that say you cannot use water at all, the non-potable water at all, and it’s heartbreaking and disturbing,” he said.
In their lawsuit, Hua Momona, the golf course owner Ty Management Company, and several community associations are blaming Maui Land and Pine for the shortage, saying the company has failed to properly maintain the ditch system.
The state Commission on Water Resource Management has documented a number of damaged or deteriorated features in the diversion some broken by floods in 2018.
“Really, we’re just saying that Maui Land and Pine should be doing a better job. That’s what it is,” said Grube.
Maui Land and Pine responded that the lawsuit is “a continuation of their efforts to compel the use of water for irrigation during this time when West Maui is experiencing a historic drought. Having tried and failed to get the regulatory agencies to force this irresponsible water use, the golf courses, unfortunately, turned to the courts.”
The golf course representatives say they’ve spent millions to conserve including planting drought resistant grasses and state of the art irrigation systems.
“We’re not over irrigating. We’re taking what’s available, measuring the water, controlling each sprinkler head and only applying water to where it’s needed,” Nakashima said.
Although it has admitted that keeping up the ditch system has been a challenge, especially after flooding damage, Maui Land also points out that its priorities by law are traditional farmers and the county drinking water system.
The lawsuit from the golf courses, subdivisions and the farm is for breach of contract, because Maui Land sold them the properties with what they say were agreements that guaranteed sufficient water.
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