Maui County committee hears plan to buy two West Maui water systems for up to $6 million

Maui County’s Water and Infrastructure Committee on July 27 reviewed a proposed purchase of water‑system assets from two private utilities in West Maui, a plan county staff said would support long‑term service and recovery work after the 2023 wildfires. Chair Tom Cook described the agenda item as a discussion of Resolution 26‑116, which would authorize the County to acquire certain water infrastructure from Lanapoko Water Company and Olowalu Water Company for a combined purchase price of up to $6,000,000.

Deputy Landgraf, presenting for the Department of Water Supply, outlined the two systems’ equipment and recent production figures. She said the Lanapoko potable system includes three wells, two tanks (400,000 and 50,000 gallons), and roughly 14.5 miles of mains, with 402 active connections and about 276 million gallons produced in 2025; the proposed purchase price for Lanapoko was $3,500,000 against an appraisal investment value cited at $8,056,000. For Olowalu, staff described a potable side (one well, boosters, ~2.3 miles of mains, 79 potable customers; 52 million gallons in 2025) and a non‑potable side (two shaft wells, stream diversion, reservoirs, ~72 nonpotable connections; 108 million gallons in 2025), and stated a purchase price of $2,500,000 and an appraisal of $1,987,000.

The presentation included projected operating costs and revenues, a schedule requiring Public Utilities Commission (PUC) review and approval after council action, and post‑closing obligations including six‑month transitional operations by the seller. Deputy Landgraf said the PUC step is required for the transfer of regulated systems and staff estimated that, if council approves the acquisition in August, the PUC process could conclude by March 2027 with an escrow/closing target in April 2027.

The committee did not vote on the measure and Chair Cook proposed deferring the item for further follow‑up. Staff will return with additional information to the committee and to the Budget, Finance and Economic Development committee before any council action.