The 17-year dispute over West Maui stream water culminated this week in something long-awaited by the parties involved: a decision.

The state Commission on Water Resource Management’s decision and order in the Na Wai Eha contested case didn’t made everyone happy. But it brought some welcome clarity regarding the competing claims to the precious resource.

The commission recognized, correctly, that taro farmers and those engaged in traditional and customary Native Hawaiian practices had rights to the water, along with commercial diversified agriculture and the general public.

The Na Wai Eha water system encompasses the “Four Great Waters” of the Waihee River, Waiehu Stream, Wailuku River and Waikapu Stream. It has long been exploited. Since the mid-1800s, sugar plantations covering thousands of acres drew from the West Maui streams to feed their thirsty monocrop.

With the demise of sugar, the need to rebalance and apply 21st century norms for environmental protection and cultural practices was obvious. The commission allocated about 35% of stream flow for “reasonable and beneficial uses,” including municipal water supply and diversified agriculture, and about 13% for kalo production.

The commission also has a public-trust duty to maintain the stream ecosystem from the mountains to the sea, necessary to support native aquatic species and Hawaiian cultural practices. To that end, the commission kept about 51% of the available flow in the streams, more or less the status quo since 2014.

Some parties were not satisfied.

“(The commission) could have done a lot more to protect streams for future generations,” said attorney Isaac Moriwake of Earthjustice. He questioned whether Mahi Pono, a diversified ag firm and successor to the sugar plantations, was getting more water than it needed.

One thing seems clear: It will be a problem for future generations. With a warming planet and less predictable rainfall, the continued health of the streams is in doubt. Maui already is suffering from severe drought conditions. Strong oversight, public accountability and enforcement of the rules are crucial to ensure that no party draws more water than its mandated share.

Farsighted planning, with an emphasis on conservation, also will be required.

“Agribusiness investors should not expect to build a new industry on the back of century-old infrastructure and at the expense of stream health,” the commission noted. “It is imperative that they are adequately capitalized and committed to upgrading existing systems to minimize leakage and waste, optimize use of non-potable water, modernize stream diversions, and maximize catchment and storage of heavy rainfall.”