HI HB781

Appropriates unspecified amount from general revenues for fiscal year 2025-2026 to pay off the bond debt service on the Waiahole water system, which has a remaining balance of approximately $4,500,000

Appropriates unspecified amount for fiscal year 2025-2026 to repair the adit 8 tunnel, which requires approximately $2,000,000 in design and construction work and is critical since all system water passes through it

The Waiahole water system is a 26.4-mile gravity-flow system transporting water from the Koolau mountains to central and leeward Oahu, serving approximately 5,600 acres of agricultural land

Farmers using the system have already paid $9,754,417.90 toward the original $8,500,000 bond from the 1998 state purchase, representing 13% more than the principal amount

The system contributed $135,000,000 and supported 2,000 jobs in the state economy as of 2012, with current agricultural water rates at 99.85 cents per 1,000 gallons—nearly double the comparable 50 cents per 1,000 gallons charged by the board of water supply