Fighting For A Strong Clean Water Permit On Kaua‘i’s West Side

Surfrider Foundation’s Kaua‘i Chapter jumped into yet another round of battle in its long-waged war to protect water quality on Kaua‘i’s west side. The state’s Clean Water Branch recently issued a Clean Water Act permit allowing the County of Kaua‘i and the Hawaii Agribusiness Development Corporation to discharge pollution into the ocean from drainage ditches across the Mānā Plain. On September 22, 2025, Surfrider formally asked the state to take a second look at the permit. Both the permit holders and several interested members of the public have also requested an administrative hearing on the permit.

These pollution discharges harm the ocean.

The ditches drain 12,500 acres of agricultural lands in the former sugar plantation area of Kekaha, adding pesticide-laden sediment to the watershed and leading to murky brown waters along Barking Sands and MacArthur beaches. 

We are challenging the Clean Water Act permit because it doesn’t include monitoring and limits for dangerous pollutants like total petroleum hydrocarbons or pesticides like glyphosate. We are also fighting to make sure that the polluters don’t convince the state to roll back the strong limits that are currently in the permit.

Picture of drainage ditch on west side of Kaua‘i draining agricultural fields to ocean. Photo shows green fields with a watery ditch running down the middle, towards the horizon.

Surfrider has been fighting for years to address the problem.

Surfrider and our partners have been fighting tirelessly to protect water quality on Kaua‘i’s west side from this pollution. In July 2016, we joined Nā Kia‘i Kai, and Pesticide Action Network in suing Hawai‘i’s Agribusiness Development Corporation for violating the Clean Water Act. In 2019, the judge ruled that the polluter needed a Clean Water Act permit for the discharge. In July 2022, we filed a lawsuit against the County and the Hawai‘i Department of Health for discharging pollution without a permit. The current permit is the culmination of nearly a decade of lawsuits to try and stem this pollution problem. 

We will continue to fight to make sure the permit has strong pollution limits that protect water quality and public health!