After 85 Years, An EIS For Hamakua Ditch
In 1910, the world was the Western man’s oyster. Anything technologically conceivable was held to be possible. And if something could be conceived of, it not only could be done, but probably should be done.
That moral imperative to develop came at a cost, the least element of which was the financial burden. The far larger costs were imposed on those whose voices could not be raised in protest: the kanaka maoli in Hawai`i, who, deprived of their water and their land, were nearly extinguished as a people; the streams, which became sere ribbons of water-worn rock or warm trickles where cold flowing freshets had coursed before; the `o`opu and `opae and the many estuarine fish that those streams had supported.
In 1910, when the Lower Hamakua Ditch was completed, it was one in a long series of water diversions that altered — probably forever — the landscape of the Hawaiian islands. Today, schemes such as this would require permits too numerous to list here, environmental impact statements, and negotiations with affected communities.
The Lower Hamakua Ditch, after 85 years of service, is in disrepair and the original use to which it was put and for which it was designed — to support the cultivation of sugar cane on the Hamakua Coast — has evaporated. Now, at long last, the environmental impact statement never done for its construction is to be done for its repair. The lengthy process of community consultation has been undertaken. And the full costs — not just financial — of continuing to keep the water running are presently to be addressed.
The refurbishment of the ditch, with an eye to supporting agriculture less demanding of water than sugar was, may well bring about opportunities for a secure base flow of water to Waipi`o Valley, which, like the Hamakua Coast above, is also undergoing a transformation. Publication soon of the draft environmental impact statement will provide all parties concerned the welcome opportunity to have a say in what happens to the water.
After 85 years, it’s not a moment too soon.
Farewell
Tom Shields, a lifelong and tireless advocate of Hawai`i’s environment, died in July after a long bout with cancer.
Tom never boasted of his achievements, though they were many and far-reaching. He worked behind more scenes than most people ever step in front of. It was Tom who prodded Bishop Museum into establishing its garden of native plants. Tom also gave many years of his life to helping establish the displays at Honolulu’s Ho`omaluhia Botanical Garden.
Tom’s service in the Korean Conflict left him with a burning desire for peace. For years, he served on the board of the United Nations Association of Honolulu.
The Sierra Club’s High School Hikers program benefited from Tom’s dedication, as did other groups too numerous to mention. Soft-spoken and modest, he was nonetheless steadfast in his liberal principles and unbending in his commitment to them by deed, and not word alone.
He will be missed, by the many who knew and loved him, of course, and by the many more — the homeless, jobless, victims of insult and discrimination — on whose behalf he worked unsung, and, to them, unknown.
Aloha, Tom.
Volume 6, Number 3 September 1995
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