Maui water officials work to address issues brought up by Grassroot brief

from Grassroot Institute, Sept 14, 2024

The Maui Department of Water Supply director tells Maui Now that his staff will offer recommendations in a couple of months

Maui Department of Water Supply Director John Stufflebean told Maui Now this week that his department is aware of the concerns raised by a new Grassroot report about the county's water-fixture policies and is working to address them.

In yesterday's edition of the online news source, Stufflebean told reporter Brian Perry that he and his staff are addressing the concerns "in conjunction with our major overhaul of the county code and our administrative procedures."

He said further that the department’s proposed recommendations will be brought to the Maui County Council in a couple of months.

"This is a major effort and at this point, it is in progress,” he said.

According to the Grassroot report, Maui County’s water-fixture-unit regulations and related fees have not been updated since 1995 and are at least partially responsible for driving up costs for building much-needed housing.

Water fixtures are appliances that use water, such as kitchen sinks, dishwashers, toilets, showers and outdoor faucets called hose bibs. They are assigned scores, measured in water-fixture units, that are supposedly based on how much water each is estimated to use. Maui County sets the maximum number of water-fixture units allowed per water meter, which it charges to install.

“If calculated properly," the report says, "the water-fixture units assigned should align closely with the physical capacities of the water meters. However, this doesn’t seem to be the case with Maui County.”

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