O‘ahu’s primary source of water, the Puʻuloa or Pearl Harbor aquifer may need further protection to ensure long-term sustainability. In the context of climate change, withdrawing water from the aquifers at the current sustainable yield limit could potentially render this aquifer unusable as a future public water supply while also threatening culturally and ecologically important springs.
Leah Bremer, lead author with UHERO Environmental Policy and Planning Group and the Water Resources Research Center said, “The current legal limits of withdrawing from the Pu‘uloa aquifer may not be sufficient to protect this important resource. Excessive water withdrawal into the future, could negatively impact not only the aquifer viability as a primary drinking water source in the future but also cultural and ecological springs that feed Sumida Farm, loʻi kalo systems, coastal wetlands, and nearshore ecosystems.”
The entire article can be found here (pdf). This study was featured in Hawaii News Now (4 August 2021) and can be found at UHERO and UH News (29 July 2021).