The Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources announced improvements to North Kohala’s Upolu Well will begin in September.

What You Need To Know

  • Since the Kohala Ditch system was damaged in April 2021, the agriculture community in the North Kohala area has not had a reliable and economical water source

  • Sen. Lorraine R. Inouye, whose support was critical to funding the project, said she began the project in 2016 and after eight years, it will finally be completed

  • The $5,754,610 project is expected to last one year

The highly anticipated project will include installing a pump and piping for the existing well, installing watermains, a new water storage tank, access road and perimeter fencing.

Since the Kohala Ditch system was damaged in April 2021, the agriculture community in the North Kohala area has not had a reliable and economical water source.

Improvements to the well will bring back water for agricultural use in adjacent areas and will be the first step to preserving agriculture production in North Kohala.

“Improvements to the Upolu Well to meet agricultural production standards are critical in ensuring the North Kohala region has a viable agricultural water source,” said Sen. Lorraine R. Inouye in a news release. Inouye’s support in the Hawaii State Legislature was critical to funding the project.

“Due to the loss of the ditch water in 2021, many agricultural users had to switch their water source to domestic water from the county’s water system, which is much more expensive and cost prohibitive for their continued operations. Creating a new, affordable agricultural water source is the spark of hope the North Kohala agriculture community needs to reinvigorate the Big Island’s agricultural industry,” said Inouye.

She said the project began in 2016 and will finally be completed after an eight-year-long wait. The Department of Agriculture will manage the project said Inouye.

Pending approval of permits, grading work will begin in Sept. 2024. Isemoto Contracting Co., Ltd. is the contractor of the $5,754,610 project that is expected to last one year.