Hawaii’s Crumbling Water Systems May Finally Be Getting Some Badly Needed Repair Money….But the Legislature has once again only approved a fraction of w
The state is almost ready to release funds to acquire the rundown Wahiawa dam, spillway and irrigation system from Dole Food Company — all that is needed now is Gov. David Ige’s signature.
But the acquisition comes with a $26 million catch: The state will need to pay to restore the 116-year-old system and bring it up to its own safety standards, a cost Dole — which has received several fines for its dam already — has said would put it out of business.
The system is set to eventually fall into the hands of the Agribusiness Development Corp., a government agency that also received millions of dollars for improving Waiahole Water System and Kekaha Ditch on Kauai.
