Bill > SB1602

This bill establishes the Keauhou Aquifer System Monitoring Pilot Project, a comprehensive groundwater research initiative in Hawaii. The Department of Land and Natural Resources will oversee a project that involves collecting data from monitoring wells, tracking groundwater levels, conducting water salinity tests, and monitoring the environmental impacts of groundwater pumping in the Keauhou aquifer system. The commission on water resource management will collaborate with other agencies to perform tasks such as collecting scientific data, hosting public information meetings, conducting community outreach, and developing a management plan for groundwater resources. The department is required to submit interim reports to the legislature every six months detailing groundwater levels and salinity analysis, and will ultimately decide whether to continue, expand, or end the pilot project based on their findings. The bill appropriates $200,000 for each of two fiscal years (2025-2026 and 2026-2027) to support these efforts, with the project set to begin on July 1, 2025. An aquifer system is an underground layer of water-bearing rock or sediment that serves as a critical water resource, and this pilot project aims to better understand and manage this important ecosystem.

Agriculture and Natural Resources, Budget and Finance

https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=1602&year=2025