GOVERNOR LINGLE RELEASES $210,000 FOR IRRIGATION PIPELINES IN KULA
For Immediate Release: March 28, 2006
HONOLULU – Governor Linda Lingle has released an additional $210,000 to continue design of Phase VI of the Upcountry Maui Watershed Project/Upper Kula Dual Pipeline. This project is being coordinated by the Hawai`i Department of Agriculture (HDOA) to provide an affordable water source for developing agribusiness in the Upcountry Kula area.
Farmers in Upcountry Maui are currently using potable water to irrigate their farms, which is more costly than surface irrigation water.
“I am pleased that construction of this major infrastructure project is progressing as scheduled,” said Governor Linda Lingle. “Affordable irrigation water is key to sustaining and expanding agriculture and will help to maximize the farmland potential in the Kula area.”
The project began in 2000, and the first phase was completed in 2001. By 2005, approximately two miles of the pipeline had been completed. Phase VI will install approximately 7,800 feet of 12-inch irrigational water pipelines on the upper slope of Kula. When completed, the new pipeline will span about 10 miles, beginning from the Olinda Water Treatment Plant to Keokea, and provide irrigation service to farmland covering about 475 acres.
The project is being developed by HDOA in conjunction with the Maui Department of Water Supply (MDWS), the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA-NRCS), and the Olinda-Kula Soil and Water Conservation District. The project is funded through a cost-sharing partnership between federal and state agencies.
The Governor released $3 million last year for development of the project. Due to the substantial cost of the entire project, it is designed in stages, with construction of Phase VI slated to begin in Spring of 2007. The estimated date of completion for the entire project is 2011.
###
For more information, contact:
Sandra Lee Kunimoto
Director, Dept. of Agriculture
Phone: (808) 973-9550
Lenny Klompus
Senior Advisor – Communications
Phone: (808) 586-7708
Russell Pang
Chief of Media Relations
Phone: (808) 586-0043
