The Maui County Council wants to temporarily stop new private swimming pools so more water can go to rebuilding homes destroyed in the August 8, 2023 wildfires and to affordable housing. The proposal, Bill 161, passed its first vote and will soon face a final decision. Supporters say this will make sure water is used for people’s needs, not pools, as reported by Maui Now.
Council Nudges Bill 161, Plus Tougher Conservation Rules
According to Maui Now, Bill 161 would stop county staff and agencies from issuing permits for new private swimming pools in the West Maui community plan region if the ordinance wins final approval. The interim restriction is proposed to stay in place until Dec. 31, 2030, or until a three-phase groundwater availability study is finished and the State Commission on Water Resource Management finds that the water system’s reliable capacity is greater than demand. Council members also advanced a companion bill that would tighten water-use rules whenever a shortage is officially declared.
Who Gets A Pass, And What Happens To Pending Pools
The proposed pause would not touch every pool. The bill carves out exemptions for public pools, for repairs and maintenance on existing pools, and for rebuilding on Lahaina properties that had pools before the fire, according to Civil Beat. County staff and commissioners noted that roughly 69 pool permit applications are already sitting in the queue for West Maui, a backlog that helped fuel momentum for a time-limited halt on new approvals.
The Water Math On A Backyard Pool
Department of Water Supply Director John Stufflebean laid out the numbers in a July letter, saying that in Lahaina’s dry climate an average 15-by-30-foot pool would use about 20,476 gallons per year, or 56.1 gallons per day, Civil Beat reported. Stufflebean and the county’s Board of Water Supply also pointed out that properly used pool covers can cut evaporation by roughly 90 percent, making those covers a central part of the council’s wider conservation debate.
Pool Covers, Deadlines And Existing Owners
Council members tweaked the separate water-shortage bill to require pool covers in certain circumstances, and under that ordinance existing private pools would not have to comply until March 1, 2027, Maui Now reported. That conservation measure now returns to the full council for a second and final reading later this month.
State Oversight Sets The Terms For Lifting The Pause
The State Commission on Water Resource Management has already designated the Lahaina aquifer sector as both a surface and groundwater management area, which gives the commission authority to review and permit water uses in West Maui, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Commission on Water Resource Management. Because of that state role, the council tied the end of the interim restriction to a CWRM finding that reliable capacity exceeds demand, along with completion of the ongoing regional groundwater studies.
Housing Versus Private Perks In A Thirsty Region
Supporters of the ban say the goal is straightforward: reserve potable water for people trying to rebuild in Lahaina and for future residents in need of affordable housing. Some homeowners and permit applicants are pushing back, arguing that relatively small pools and hot tubs can provide cooling and a measure of safety in hot, dry conditions, Maui News reported. Council members now have to sort through those competing priorities while state and county water managers finish their technical work.
The latest votes leave the council staring at a clear fork in the road: lock in a time-limited pause while regulators complete water studies and a CWRM capacity review, or instead opt for narrower conservation rules that let the current stack of pool permits move ahead as West Maui rebuilds. Whichever path they choose will determine how much of the community’s strained water supply can still flow toward private amenities in an area recovering from the 2023 wildfire and years of declining rainfall.
