The Garden Island. [volume] (Lihue, Kauai, H.T.) 1902-current, 1918-03-12
GOV. PlNKHAM TO RESCUE
Analyses Water Question As
1t Affects Lihue Company
And the Homesteaders

Governor Pinkham has prepared Il
chart showing what the flow of water
is for each week in the year in tue
Kapaa district 1t illustrates very
graphically the water situation with
reference not only to the Wailua lan..s.
but to the Katba and Anahola lands.
The chart is very instructive aud
: mere outi'rc Of the situation shove
u at the question of how to su;t!y
sufficient wa+cr for the several Lll.i
tations and for the homesteaders as
well, is one that calls for careful con.
sideration.
An analysis of the chart presents
a number of Illuminating facts There
are, for instance, within the Waipouli
Anahola, Wailua Mauka, Wailua Kai
Pineapple lease, Homesteads Nos. l,
2, g. and land districts, a total of
| 1O,521 acres. OF this total, 1926 acres
are now in cane. There are 3,O96
acres classed as non-agricultural.
OF the total area in cane, 3,146 acres
| are irrigated, and 4,279 are not irri-
| gated. There are 6,619 acres that can
be irrigated, and 500 acres so located
that irrigation is impossible. North
OF Anaholo there are 245 acres that
are irrigated.
The requirements for successful
cane growing are one million gallons
of water to each hundred acres daily
6,S46 acres requires 6S,640,000 gallons
| per day. The minimum supply, how
ever, is 10000 gallons. This leaves a
daily deficiency of 2S,G4O,OOO gallons
a day
In order to insure a sufficient a
of plantation and homestead lands, it
will be necessary to supply storage
capacity of 52S.000,000 gallons
Until the government came into pos
session of the North Fork OF the Wal
| lua river canyon, it was not able to
| develope plans which would insure
the collection of water from several
streams into one stream, or to provide
storage conservation, tunnells, bitches.
etc.
Conferences were held with those
whose long residence in the district
had enabled them to know the con-
ditions.
1t is stated that since the addition of
Homestead No. 4, and the North Wal
lua lands, financiers cannot afford to
take the chances or make loans that
are secured only on crops, where in
adequate supply of water for irrigat-
ion exists. The Governor states that
in every case of drought there would
be great loss, if not entire failure.
For the past two years or so, local
interests have been disposed to make
the necessary investment on reason
able financial terms, to conserve, store
and properly distribute these waters,
but the governments hands have been
tied. Now however, the land has been
returned to government possession
through the expiration of the leases
and there is no longer conflict of
interests between Lihue Plantation
Company and the Makee Sugar Com
pany So there now seems no reason
why both land and water matters may
not be nationally arranged. 1t will
naturally take time to carry out the
work, and the war naturally has in
creased the demand for the use of
capital in other lines.
1t would not seem just to deprive
the makai lands of water that would
naturally come to them. Homestead
series Nos. l and are situated at an
elevation so great that the Kapaa
waters cannot be got onto them to any
great extent 1t is suggested there
fore, that the solution of the problem
calls for the cooperation of all in
terests concerned with a view of It'd
ing over the present difficulties until
such time as more extensive plans
can be decided upon looking to the ir-
rigation of all lands that can be reach
ed, whether plantation or homestead,
The Governor suggests that in his
opinion it will be necessary to clearly
define exactly what will be needed in
the way of conservation and distri-
button of water and embody the result
in lease or license to be offered to
public competition under proper mini
mum price and distribution regula-
tions, the entire system to later be-
come public property.
The government now has applica-
tions for 1850 acres of cane land, OF
which the government has 1900 acres
in possession, with 2,377 acres of cane
land which will revert to the govern
mcnt later on, after the present crops
have been harvested