Hawaii agency approves $4.9M land purchase to acquire hazardous Wahiawā dam

Directors of the Hawaiʻi Agribusiness Development Corp. voted unanimously Wednesday to approve a $4.9 million purchase of 142.5 acres on which the 120-year-old Wahiawā dam and spillway sit, moving the state closer to completing a multiagency takeover of a structure that carries the nation’s highest federal hazard rating. The vote came weeks after Kona storms pushed Wahiawā Reservoir to within three feet of its brim and triggered the evacuation of thousands of downstream residents on Oʻahu’s North Shore.

The state is acquiring the dam and its surrounding irrigation network after Dole Food Co. — which has a net worth of almost $1.5 billion — said in 2023 it could not afford the required safety repairs. The estimated cost to the state has since tripled from the $21 million lawmakers appropriated in 2023, and Gov. Josh Green asked the Legislature last month for an additional $43 million.

A Cascading Price Tag

The $4.9 million land purchase is not the final step in the transaction. The state must still reach agreement with Dole on land near the spillway; the Department of Land and Natural Resources has already agreed separately to take over Wahiawā Reservoir, also known as Lake Wilson.

Dole estimates restoration of the full irrigation system will cost $35 million, with an annual $2.5 million maintenance and operation bill. Board chair Jayson Watts made clear the scale of what the agency was committing to accept.

“Come July 1, this is going to be your responsibility, and the life and property,” Watts said.

ADC staff said they expect to return to the board in May with final terms for approval. The full transaction must be completed before a June 30 deadline. Directors spent a significant portion of Wednesday’s meeting examining whether the agency has sufficient staff and funds to manage the system once the transfer is complete.

Safety Record and the Storm Test

The earthen dam has the second-lowest federal safety rating and the highest federal hazard rating, with failure posing risk to thousands of people downstream, according to reporting by Honolulu Civil Beat. Dole has said community concerns about the structure were overwrought.

March’s Kona storms offered a vivid illustration of the stakes. Record rainfall pushed the reservoir nearly to capacity and prompted mass evacuations of North Shore communities.

The acquisition follows more than a decade in which Dole did not complete the required safety improvements to the plantation-era structure. The state entered formal negotiations with the company in 2023. Lawmakers decided then that the state was the best custodian of the dam and lake.

Environmental Contamination Findings

Environmental studies have found evidence of lead and fuel on the lands the state is acquiring, ADC senior executive assistant Mark Takemoto told the board Wednesday.

“We haven’t found anything there that we think should stop the board’s process,” Takemoto said. He recommended the board move forward, saying acquisition remained in the state’s interest.

The total extent of required environmental remediation is not yet known. “We don’t know what the magnitude of that is,” Takemoto added.

Dole consultant Trisha Kehaulani Watson offered the board assurance on the repair picture.

“There’s no big ticket, hidden repairs coming,” Watson said.

Revenue Potential

If restored, the irrigation network could become a revenue source for the state. The system currently delivers about 5 billion gallons of nonpotable agricultural water annually to roughly 9,500 acres, generating about $1 million per year in irrigation fees. Restoration could expand irrigated acreage to as many as 17,000 acres, according to Honolulu Civil Beat.

Dole may become one of the state’s paying water customers under the new arrangement. The irrigation system feeds more than 2,600 acres of Dole agricultural land adjacent to its plantation and pineapple maze on Oʻahu. Lawmakers have also identified hydroelectric power generation as a potential addition to the system.

A Complicated Transaction

The acquisition involves multiple state agencies and two private landowners. The $4.9 million purchase covers 142.5 acres owned by Sustainable Hawaiʻi LLC, a company owned by local attorney Howard Greene, on which the dam and spillway sit. The transaction also encompasses two smaller reservoirs downhill of the main dam, in similarly poor condition, and about 25 miles of irrigation lines.

Dole has already agreed to donate its interest in the land to the state. Wednesday’s vote clears the way for ADC to enter final negotiations with Dole and Sustainable Hawaiʻi on a broader acquisition agreement.

Once the agribusiness agency completes the acquisition, it will transfer ownership to the Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity to carry out repairs; ownership will then revert to the agribusiness agency for ongoing management.