Namahana School Secures Water Rights For Permanent Site

We’re proud to announce another milestone: We secured water for Namahana School’s permanent site! 

Though we now own the 11.3 acres that Namahana School will sit on, we needed to apply for water rights with the Department of Water (DOW). Getting the water rights wouldn’t have been possible without the community. We received and presented over 100 letters of support, 96 of which were handwritten letters from Namahana School students.  We also had letters of support from Mayor Derek Kawakami, Speaker of the House Nadine Nakamura, and Senate President Ron Kouchi.  At the meeting for water rights, two Namahana School students presented oral testimony (video above), along with several other community members.  

The approval included the condition to work with the Department of Water to develop a water minimization/mitigation plan.  As an ‘āina-based school, we are committed to supporting water conservation and look forward to collaborating with the DOW to develop this plan. 

Mahalo to everyone for the effort and support to help us secure water!