Opinion ID: 2629221
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: The K&amacr;kalahale well monitoring program

Text: Inasmuch as the evidence adduced at the contested case hearing indicated that the proposed use might have an effect on Moloka'i's water resources, the Commission imposed a condition on MR-Wai`ola's water use permit to protect these water resources, pursuant HAR § 13-171-20(e) (1996). [23] Specifically, the decision provided for the installation of an observation well in Kakalahale, which is located between the proposed well site and the Kamiloloa shoreline, to monitor (1) the effect of the additional pumping in the Kamiloloa aquifer system and (2) the reduction of groundwater discharge into the nearshore environment by logging water-level data. The data would be used to extrapolate tidal functions in order to establish long-term water-level trends. The Commission believed that the well monitoring program ... [was] reasonable and proportional to the effect that the proposed use of 655,928 gpd ... [would] have on the water resources. Moreover, the Commission expressly retained jurisdiction over MR-Wai`ola's water use permit and reserved the right to modify the operation of the Kamiloloa-Wai'ola well in the event of a significant and unexpected drawdown in the well, thereby causing a reduction in groundwater discharge into the nearshore environment. Additional contested FOF and COL appear in the relevant discussion sections of this opinion.