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Water is Life

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We need new leadership to serve the people on the Upcountry Water Meter List.

Over the past decade, Yuki Lei Sugimura, the current Upcountry councilmember, has failed to make any significant progress to address the needs of our neighbors on the Upcountry Water Meter List.  After doing nothing for years, she recently supported selling water rights to a mainland venture capitalist firm, Free Market Ventures, LLC.  Only after outrage from the community, the proposal was rejected.  We deserve better. 

I will reprioritize water allocation.

We must prioritize water for housing and agriculture.  Currently, luxury homes and hotels are our biggest water users and biggest water wasters.  I support a comprehensive overhaul of water rates for hotels and empty luxury vacation homes.  I also support new regulations that prohibit most water features, like water fountains and pools, at hotels.  Raising water rates for luxury hotels can also generate additional revenue for affordable housing. Luxury hotels are significant water consumers, and higher rates would provide a substantial funding stream without burdening local residents. The additional revenue could be earmarked to develop and maintain affordable housing, addressing the pressing need for more accessible living options for low- and middle-income families. Additionally, higher water costs would incentivize hotels to adopt more sustainable water practices, benefiting the environment. This approach ensures that the tourism industry contributes fairly to the community’s welfare, fostering a more balanced and inclusive local economy.

I support building several new reservoirs for water storage and electricity generation.

Pumped storage hydropower (PSH) is a type of hydroelectric energy storage. It is a configuration of two water reservoirs at different elevations that can generate power as water moves down from one to the other (discharge), passing through a turbine.  The system also requires power as it pumps water back into the upper reservoir (recharge). PSH acts similarly to a giant battery, because it can store power and then release it when needed.  Reservoirs like these have been operating successfully for decades increasing water supplies while generating clean renewable energy.  

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