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Streams/Kakipi

IIFS Status: IIFS as per §13-169-44.

Alternate Names and Branches: Halehaku, Opana, Waihe’e, Maka’a, Palama, Kaulu, Pi’iloi

Current Situation:

USGS Gage: (None)

DAR Report: Link

IFSAR Report: (None)

Lease Area: None (it is outside the Huelo-Honomanu-Ke’anae-Nahiku lease area)

Additional Information: The Kakipi is a complex of streams that also includes the Halehaku and the Kapala’alaea. The gulch also has the Kapala’alaea reservoir which was supposed to be removed in 2025. You can read about the dam removal here.

The Kakipi system is outside the East Maui Lease Area so is not included in several important legal findings, including contested cases, that have significantly altered how many East Maui streams are managed. This means its IIFS falls under the status quo ruling given by HRS §13-169-44. It also means that no CWRM IFSAR study has been done. The closest thing to that is this study by the CWRM. Maui County commissioned a Haiku Stream Restoration Study that included the Kakipi system. You can read that here.

.The Kakipi stream system is diverted more than 20 times, into the Lowrie Ditch, the New Hamakua Ditch, the Kauikoa Ditch, and the Wailoa Ditch.

Notes:

  • DAR = Division of Aquatic Resources. These guys assess stream biota.
  • IFSAR = Instream Flow Standard Assessment Report. This study focuses on hydrology, flow and water uses.
  • IIFS = Interim Instream Flow Standard
  • PAIFS = Petition to Amend Instream Flow Standard. You can read the PAIFS here.
  • §13-169-44 = Statutory requirement for Instream Flow. This is the fallback the CWRM uses in the absence of historical flow data. Basically it locks in whatever the situation was for the stream in 1988. You can read about it here.