The Wahiawā Dam is still not quite under new management.
One of the current owners of the dam, Dole Food Co., has been preparing since 2023 to transfer ownership of the century-old dam and other lands associated with the Wahiawā irrigation system to the state, at no cost. The other owner, Sustainable Hawai‘i LLC, had agreed to sell its share of the dam and the land on which it sits to the state for $4.9 million.
While the Board of Land and Natural Resources accepted ownership of lands surrounding the Wahiawā reservoir last month, the transfer of dam itself must be carried out by the state Agribusiness Development Corp., under the state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. And on Wednesday, after multiple delayed meetings, the ADC board discussed the matter.
But although Wednesday’s discussion covered several dam-related topics, an actual decision on whether to take over dam ownership won’t be made until closer to the end of June.
During Wednesday’s meeting, board members questioned multiple Dole representatives about the company’s management of the dam in advance of the Kona low storms. Multiple board members questioned why Dole hadn’t taken steps to reduce the water level within the reservoir — also called Lake Wilson — following a rainy winter.
Dole General Manager Dan Nellis said reducing the level of the reservoir takes time and advance planning. Lake Wilson covers more than 300 acres and holds up to three billion gallons of water, and it can be drained at a rate of roughly 150,000 cubic feet per second — lowering the water level by about 0.8 feet per day.
Dole spokeswoman Trisha Kehaulani Watson said Dole has worked with DLNR since the Kona lows to lower the water level at the reservoir further below the 35-foot minimum level that is typically in place, increasing the reservoir’s capacity to take in storm water.
Watson repeatedly emphasized that the dam has continued to operate as designed up to the standards of its construction, and said that it was not at risk of failing during the Kona low storms, despite the water level in the reservoir coming within feet of overflowing. However, she said upgrading the century-old structure to meet modern standards, such as by widening the spillway, is too costly for Dole to do, hence the transfer to the state.
She added that, between $26 million allocated to ADC to acquire the dam in 2023, another bill this year that will allocate additional funds for irrigation system maintenance, and annual revenue from users of the irrigation system should be sufficient for the state to handle those necessary upgrades, which Dole has estimated will cost around $35 million in total.
Watson also suggested the Irrigation System could generate additional revenue to the state, not only through an expansion of the system's irrigation lines to new users and increasing the amount of treated effluent distributed through the system, but also, potentially, by using the dam to generate hydroelectric power.
The ADC board also approved on Wednesday the acceptance of a $50,000 grant by the U.S. Department of Energy to investigate the dam's energy-generating potential. That analysis will take one to two years to complete, but preliminary results may be released by the end of this year.
Wednesday’s meeting concluded with the board authorizing ADC Executive Director Wendy Gady to begin negotiations with Dole to complete the land transfer, while also ordering a further analysis of the parcels in order to better ascertain the dam’s condition.
Nonetheless, the state must take possession of the Wahiawā Irrigation System by June 30, or else the 2023 bill authorizing that transfer will expire.
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