Senate Committee on Energy and Environment (ENE) - chair: Mike Gabbard, vice chair: J. Kalani English Senate Committee on Water, Land, and Housing (WLH) - chair: Donovan M. Dela Cruz, vice chair: Malama Solomon

Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 2:45 p.m.. Conference Room 225

Testifier: Anna Hoover, Legislative Committee Member, LWV of Hawaii

Click here to view SB2782

Chairs Gabbard and Dela Cruz and Vice Chairs English and Solomon and committee members, The League of Women Voters of Hawaii supports providing sufficient funding for the Department of Land and Natural Resources projects designed to protect watershed forests that protect the replenishment of Hawaii's water supplies. Hawaii's watersheds allow for percolation of water to aquifers. As watershed lands diminish or are altered the urgency to protect existing watershed areas increases to protect this most important resource for today and the future, Without recharge there will be no groundwater and that is our primary source of water. The League supports water resource programs and policies that reflect the interrelationships of water quality, water quantity, ground-water and surface water and that address the potential depletion of water supplies. This includes protection of recharge areas for groundwater. Watershed protection needs to happen now. Please send SB2782 on to adequate fund DLNR's watershed programs.