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Moloka`i Island Water Use and Development Plan (WUDP) Update
The Moloka’i Water Use and Development Plan Update is currently in progress.
Goal - To formulate a plan with holistic land and water resources understanding through a community -based planning and partnership process with respect for Native Hawaiian culture, traditions and practices that:
- Complies with the State Water Code
- Provides for sustainable ground and surface water use and development to serve present users and future generations
Objectives - Planning objectives will be defined based on public input, the Moloka’i Community Plan and the State Framework for updating the plan.
Planning Process

E komo mai!
Join us to learn more about the Moloka’i WUDP update and share your mana`o. Please join our virtual community meetings and fill out our questionnaire to tell us what water resource issues are most important to you and the Moloka’i community.
- Questionnaire - Fill out our questionnaire to tell us what water resource issues are most important to you and the Moloka’i community.
- Notification list - By subscribing to this list you'll be notified of WUPD calendar events, agendas and virtual community meetings.
- Virtual Community Meetings - See the Upcoming Community Meeting schedule and related agendas, minutes and video recordings.
Project Team
The Water Use and Development Plan for the island of Molokaʻi is being updated in a collaboration of TOWNSCAPE, INC., an Environmental and Community Planning company and the County of Maui Department of Water Supply, Water Resources and Planning Division.
Meet the team members for this essential project.
Bruce Tsuchida is a Principal Planner, President and founder of TOWNSCAPE, INC. a company based in Honolulu. He is in charge of overall company business planning, marketing, quality control, staff mentoring, and management of the company’s projects, including the Primary Urban Center Watershed Management Plan for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply. Bruce received a Bachelor of Arts degree in English Literature from Amherst College and a Master’s degree in Landscape Architecture and Regional Planning from the Harvard School of Design. He grew up in Queen’s County, New York and has lived in Hawai’i since 1984.
Email Bruce Tsuchida
Sherri Hiraoka is a Principal Planner focusing on watershed, natural resources, land use, and community based planning projects. Recent projects include the He’eia Wetlands Restoration Conceptual Plan, Wai’anae, Ko’olauloa, and ‘Ewa Watershed Management Plans and the State Water Resources Protection Plan. Sherri received a Bachelor of Science degree in Biological Sciences from the University of California at Irvine and graduated from the Masters of Arts program in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawaiʻi. She is from Hilo and has been with TOWNSCAPE since 2001.
Email Sherri Hiraoka
Gabrielle Sham is an Associate Planner concentrating on land use and community based planning projects such as updating the Molokaʻi Regional Plan for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) and developing Resources Management Plans for DHHL. She earned a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Finance from Tulane University and from the University of Hawaiʻʻi at Mānoa, a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning and a certificate from the Disaster Management and Humanitarian Assistance Program. Gabrielle has been with TOWNSCAPE since 2013.
Email Gabrielle Sham
Lillie Makaila is an Environmental and Community Planner with an interest in projects that support indigenous peoples, especially those in native Hawaiian communities. She is passionate about environmental stewardship, resource management and preserving rural character. Lillie obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Hawaiian Language from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, concentrating on land tenure history and translation of Kingdom documents. She earned a Master of Arts in Urban and Regional Planning from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa with areas of concentration in community and environmental planning and disaster management. She has lived most of her life on the windward side of O’ahu, and has strong ties to the agricultural community. Lillie joined TOWNSCAPE in early 2018.
Email Lillie Makaila
Eva Blumenstein is the Planning Program Manager of the Water Resources and Planning Division at the Maui County Department of Water Supply. Her expertise includes authoring the draft Maui Island WUDP as well as serving on the Maui Drought Committee, Hawaiʻi Water Loss Control Committee, DLNR Forest Stewardship Advisory Committee and the Water Security Advisory Group. Eva holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa as well as a Master of Law from the University of Stockholm in her native Sweden. She has been with the Department since 2000.
Email Eva Blumenstein
Marti Buckner is a Water Resource Planner and project manager for the Molokaʻi WUDP Update. Her experience includes Regulatory Compliance, Water Conservation and Source Protection. She obtained a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from the University of Kentucky with an emphasis on environmental and community planning. Marti has been with the Department and lived on Maui since 2007.
Email Marti Buckner
Townscape Inc. Company Brochure:
Resources
- Moloka’i Community Island Plan Update (2018)
- Moloka’i DHHL Regional Plan Update (2019)
- Hawai’i Water Plan
- Water Resource Protection Plan (2019 Update)
- State Department of Land and Natural Resources Water Projects Plan Update (June 2020)
- Hawai’i Agricultural Water Use and Development Plan (Dec. 2019)
- Hawai’i Department of Health Water Quality Plan (2019)
- Numerical Simulation of Groundwater Availability in Central Moloka’i, Hawai’i
- Maui County Water Use and Development Plan (March 1990)
- Moloka’i Moku Map
- Moloka’i Future of a Hawai’ian Island
- Report of the Moloka'i Water Working Group Revised May 2008
- Report of the Moloka'i Water Working Group Revised April 1996
Mauka to MakaiPhoto credit to: The Nature Conservancy
Moloka’i Water Use and Development Plan Fact Sheet
The State of Hawaiʻi Water Code requires each county to develop a Water Use and Development Plan and Maui County has chosen to develop separate plans for Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Maui to better address the unique needs of each island. The Molokaʻi Water Use and Development Plan will analyze the island’s water resources and project how future water needs will be met.