The state Department of Land and Natural Resources in September will start a yearlong $5.7 million project to improve a well in North Kohala so it can be used for agricultural purposes once again.

Since the Kohala Ditch — a century-old system of irrigation ditches and reservoirs used during the island’s sugar plantation era — was critically damaged during a 2021 landslide, area farmers have had no reliable water sources that can be used on an agricultural scale.

Rancher Scotty Lewis said the roughly 1,000 acres of his ranch used to rely on Kohala Ditch as its primary water source. But since 2021 he has had to rely on county water, which he estimated is “100 times” more expensive.

“The ditch was a bit on and off, reliability-wise,” Lewis said. “It wasn’t always 100% available, so I would use county water as a secondary source. … And it wasn’t all that clean; it was ditch water. It would come out brown. But comparing the price, it was a steal.”

According to a 2022 environmental assessment, there are more than 1,080 acres of unirrigated agricultural land in Kohala that rely on other water sources, such as private wells, at considerable personal cost. The approximate water demand from farmers in the area is 557,000 gallons a day.

Consequently, the DLNR, in cooperation with the state Department of Agriculture, will develop an existing U.S. Geological Survey observation well and convert it for agricultural use.

The ‘Upolu Well, located on 44.5 acres of state land on Upolu Road, could supply up to 684,000 gallons of water a day without adversely affecting surrounding water resources.

According to the environmental assessment, the well would be run for 16 hours a day and supply roughly 384,000 gallons a day. It would include a 660,000-gallon, 20-foot-tall reservoir tank, an access road and various other pumping apparatus.

Farmers or cooperatives interested in accessing the ‘Upolu Well water would be able to privately design and fund waterlines connecting the well to their operations, for a fee paid to a state-­contracted well operator.

The assessment estimated that the water rate could be about $2 per thousand gallons, although that was based on 2022 operational cost estimates.

Other potential phases of the project could develop more of the parcel — or an adjacent 404-acre parcel — in an agricultural park, with lots available for lease, depending on whether sufficient additional water exists beyond current farmers’ needs.

The first grading work is scheduled to begin in September, pending final permit approvals, with Isemoto Contracting Co. Ltd. as the project’s general contractor.

Cab Baber, president of the Kohala Chapter of the Hawaii Farmers Union United, said he hopes the ‘Upolu Well is just the beginning.

“We have plenty of water in Kohala,” Baber said. “We just need to be able to access it.”

Baber said there are several other USGS test wells throughout Kohala that could be similarly tapped for agricultural use. He said pumping tests in the past found that extensive use of the wells did not bring any changes in the well water’s salinity.

Without reliable access to water and with the Kohala Ditch prohibitively expensive to repair, Baber said farmers either have to rely on rain or pay for expensive waterlines to county or private wells. The high cost of water, in turn, limits the scale of farmers’ operations.

“I have to be really strategic about what I can plant and when,” Baber said.

Lewis said he has had to sell off large portions of his herd during dry years and that he has to weigh the cost of installing, maintaining and pumping private wells against the potential savings in water rates.

During a lengthy public engagement process, several farmers with smaller operations were excited about the prospect of more reliable water access.

“My husband and I recently purchased a farm at the end of Ho‘ea (Road),” wrote Jessica Jansen. “We are currently creating a business plan and have come across issues regarding water and the current drought. We will not be able to plant any more plants or sustain a farm with the current available water as we are already maxed out on our allowed county water usage.”

“When the Kohala Ditch was destroyed by the landslides of April 2021, most of us lost a viable way to pay for irrigation and stock water,” the Ho‘ea Water Pipeline Association wrote. “The proposal of an ag park bringing lower cost water to farm lots and to existing farmers and ranchers is both necessary and exciting for the future of ag in North Kohala.”