WAILUKU, Hawai’i (Island News) — A Maui lawmaker said he has a solution to mitigate the county’s ongoing housing crisis.
Because many affordable housing projects on Maui cannot be built due to a lack of water, Councilmember Tom Cook proposed to use recycled water for those developments.
“R-1 (recycled water) is tested by the Department of Health. It’s held to very high standards. It’s used all across the country and all across the world,” Cook said.
Cook emphasized the water shortage is the worst in West Maui, where about 75% of the water is privately owned.
“West Maui, it’s a huge problem. In fact, it’s stopping many of the projects from being approved. In South Maui it’s an issue, we don’t have as many projects planned in South Maui. In general, Maui County needs to utilize all the water sources it can get,” Cook said.
The councilmember added about 60% of the recycled water from the South Maui plant is being used for irrigation and offsetting park use, then the remaining 40% goes to hotels and other large landowners.
Another reasoning for Cook’s resolution is to stop recycled water from being discharged into the ocean.
“The water is still high in nutrients and nitrogen, so it’s not good for the reefs because limu and stuff grows. But it’s great for plants,” Cook explained.
The resolution now heads to the mayor’s office for consideration during the budget session.