A&B to pay Mahi Pono $55M to take over East Maui water system

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) — A major business deal between Maui landowners have some water rights advocates worried.

Mahi Pono, which bought 41 thousand acres for farming in Central Maui from Alexander & Baldwin (A&B) seven years ago will become the sole owner of the massive East Maui Irrigation company.

That’s the system of water diversion dikes, ditches and tunnels that moves surface water from East Maui streams to the former sugar lands owned by Mahi Pono.

Until now A&B and Mahi Pono had 50-50 ownership, Mahi Pono is owned by a Canadian pension fund.

East Maui Resident, Kamalani Pahukoa said, “The East Maui water system and its system was the very foundation that built A&B into what it’s become in Hawaii. And yet through these transactions, we continue to see our public trust resources being compromised.”

Under the deal A&B is paying Mahi Pono $55 million dollars to take over the system.

Mahi Pono said it remains committed to supporting agriculture and all the current customers and traditional farmers that depend on water from the system.

In the long run, the County of Maui has plans to acquire the system.

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