Late last year a devastating water crisis hit Hawaii as thousands of gallons of fuel from the Red Hill Bulk Fuel Storage Facility leaked into the groundwater.

Thousands of mostly military families were relocated out of housing and the crisis worsened military-community relations given the preceding years of intense debate about the environmental impact of the facility.

However, most disturbingly it revealed a fundamental weakness that impacts not just Honolulu but all of Hawaii: our near single source dependence on underground aquifers presents an enduring threat to the state’s water security.

The Red Hill crisis is not the only water crisis to face Hawaii in the recent past. Maui County had to issue a water conservation notice that inflamed an age-old debate about balancing water for residents and one of our primary economic pillars, tourism.

More broadly, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration holds that the entire state of Hawaii is either in abnormally dry conditions or at least moderate to severe drought.

Whether through a man-made crisis or climate change we are facing increasing pressure on our water resources — and that pressure will only intensify as Hawaii’s population continues to grow (we clocked a 7% growth rate from 2010-2020).

Look To Desalination

A necessary, and so far, missing part of our water resource management strategies must include desalination projects. Relying simply on rain replenished groundwater reservoirs is a recipe for disaster with the potent mix of population increase and climate change impacts on the water cycle.

Recent efforts to increase the agricultural development and food security needs of Hawaii will also run into steep trouble if we don’t expand the supply of available fresh water. Fortunately, our islands are literally surrounded by the solution, and worldwide it’s shown results.

Right now the American Southwest is living through a megadrought so dramatic, researchers fear the last megadrought this severe coincided with the disappearance and collapse of the Anasazi people.

Crucially however, our fellow Americans on the mainland have some of the very solutions our state needs, particularly San Diego. After a series of devastating droughts and water rights battles in the 1990’s, San Diego County worked to develop a water resources management solution.

In addition to a whole range of innovative and conservation focused programs, one of the crucial facets of their plan was the construction of the largest desalination plant in the country. The addition of new sources of water has mitigated the severe impacts of a once in a millennium drought.

Globally, other countries have demonstrated high levels of success by incorporating desalination into their water management plans.

Singapore is an exemplary example of water management, sourcing 10% of its water needs through desalination. The hot, parched country of Saudi Arabia is a leader in desalination, meeting its modern water security requirements through a variety of large projects, many of which are powered in part or in whole by renewable energy.

Israel, another water-challenged country, has invested heavily in desalination over the last 20 years and expects projects to support 80-90% of municipal and industrial water needs through desalination. Given the current and sustained investment, Israeli water solutions have become increasingly advanced, effective, and support an industry filling a critical global need.

State and local lawmakers must put desalination high on the agenda.

We feel the pressure of water insecurity now. The solutions will take time to develop, and an all-encompassing water management strategy does include conservation, infrastructure improvement, and reducing usage.

Our single dependence on groundwater reserves is a strategic risk we cannot let go unaddressed. The National Intelligence Council forecasted back in 2020 the impacts of increasing water insecurity:

We are seeing that play out in real time. The Council on Strategic Risks analyzed last year that increasing water scarcity was driving conflict, particularly on the local level. While we shouldn’t expect domestic “water wars” we need to be cognizant of water supply and water demand.

The Covid-19 pandemic has shown how brittle our globalized world is, and a particular lack of resiliency for Hawaii. When it comes to water security, we must leave nothing to chance. State and local lawmakers must put desalination high on the agenda and act now to make the long-term investments necessary to support the stability and prosperity of all the Hawaiian islands.