Leveraging Community Engagement Practices to Shape & Fund the Future of the East Maui Water System

In June and October of 2025, the Public Finance Initiative (PFI), in partnership with the East Maui Water Authority (EMWA) and local community associations, co-hosted a series of workshops across East Maui to discuss the region’s water challenges and opportunities. Residents, kupuna (elders), local officials, taro farmers and advocates came together to share stories of dried streams once vital for farming, climate risks to the watershed, and lessons from a history of privatization. Elders also emphasized preserving traditional knowledge and stewardship for future generations. 

The result: A roadmap toward values-based water governance and a project list developed by residents that emphasized key East Maui water priorities – such as the acquisition of the East Maui water system, infrastructure upgrades, the creation of a new East Maui base yard, watershed health initiatives, among others, summarized in this press release and Op-Ed co-authored by Dr. Jonathan Likeke Scheuer, board chair, ʻAha Wai o Maui Hikina & Lourdes German, PFI Executive Director.

To learn more about the program, click here to read our Q&A and watch this brief video with EMWA Director Gina Young.