{"id":750374,"date":"2026-04-24T18:07:15","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:07:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/750374\/"},"modified":"2026-04-24T18:07:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T18:07:15","slug":"water-conservation-ordinance-in-effect-recent-rain-highlights-infrastructure-needs-maui-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/750374\/","title":{"rendered":"Water-conservation ordinance in effect; recent rain highlights infrastructure needs : Maui Now"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>   April 24, 2026, 6:00 AM HST  <\/p>\n<p>\n<img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"640\" src=\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/maui-waterway-1-by-wendy-osher-1024x640.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-522354\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Council Chair Alice L. Lee reminded Maui County residents that the county\u2019s new water-conservation ordinance took effect last month, emphasizing that responsible water use remains critical despite recent heavy rainfall.<\/p>\n<p>Lee said Ordinance 5929 represents a proactive step to promote responsible resource management across the county. The law establishes a framework that balances the needs of residents and businesses with the long-term necessity of water security, she said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe council recognized the urgent need to modernize our water standards to protect our most vital resource,\u201d said Lee, who holds the council seat for the Wailuku-Waihe\u02bbe-Waikap\u016b residency area. \u201cEnacting this water-conservation legislation was a collaborative effort to ensure our community remains resilient in the face of changing environmental conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/b><\/p>\n<p>While recent kona low storms brought significant surface water to the island, Lee noted that a deluge doesn\u2019t solve long-term supply challenges. According to the Department of Water Supply, rapid, heavy rain often results in high runoff into the ocean rather than soaking into the ground to recharge deep aquifers.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe saw the risks just this month in South Maui when a major mainline break forced emergency conservation measures,\u201d Lee said. \u201cEven with full tanks, high demand during repairs can deplete storage rapidly, threatening essential services like hospitals and fire protection.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis ordinance helps us maintain a \u2018buffer\u2019 in our system for these types of emergencies.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Lee said the ordinance was introduced as Bill 158 and includes a variety of measures to reduce water waste and improve efficiency. She said the ordinance includes elements in the following categories:<\/p>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Landscape-irrigation schedules.<\/li>\n<li>Water-waste prohibitions.<\/li>\n<li>Development and industry standards.<\/li>\n<li>Swimming-pool conservation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/b><b>ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW AD<\/b><\/p>\n<p>The ordinance arose from Bill 158 (2025), which Lee introduced at the administration\u2019s request. The bill was amended both by the council\u2019s Water and Infrastructure Committee and by the full council.<\/p>\n<p>Lee said the Department of Water Supply has a website with an overview on the ordinance:\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/waterresources.mauicounty.gov\/226\/Water-Use-Conservation-Ordinance-5929-Bill-158\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">https:\/\/waterresources.mauicounty.gov\/226\/Water-Use-Conservation-Ordinance-5929-Bill-158<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"April 24, 2026, 6:00 AM HST Council Chair Alice L. Lee reminded Maui County residents that the county\u2019s&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":750375,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[23],"tags":[308928,308929,308930,746,5173,279473,279964,308931,308932,159,67,132,68,49371,308933,308934,270394,270395],"class_list":["post-750374","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-alice-lee","tag-bill-158","tag-chair-alice-lee","tag-environment","tag-infrastructure","tag-kona-low","tag-kona-low-storm","tag-ordinance-5929","tag-rain-impacts","tag-science","tag-united-states","tag-unitedstates","tag-us","tag-water-conservation","tag-water-conservation-maui","tag-water-conservation-ordinance","tag-water-infrastructure","tag-water-security"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/116461020593180441","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750374","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=750374"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/750374\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/750375"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=750374"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=750374"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=750374"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}