Stop Muddying Kauai's Waters

Soil erosion is one of the major pollutants impacting the ocean waters of Kauai. The main culprits are large scale agriculture, housing developments, and roadside maintenance. Soil entering the water “clouds” the water , inhibiting coral reef photosynthesis and growth. It also simply smothers the reefs , killing them. Fields formerly planted in sugar are now being used for GMO seed crops, but Best Management Practices (BMPs)for these new crops are not being implemented. Two seed crop companies were recently caught operating without proper BMPs and County grubbing permits. Their illegal and unconscionable lack of soil conservation measures caused huge amounts of erosion of soil from recently tilled fields that ran into waters on the west side of Kauai, killing the reefs and ruining local subsistence fishing. Fishermen, fearing reprisals from local ag employers and getting no action from the County government, turned to Surfrider Kauai to expose the illegal practices of the GMO companies and force the government to take action. The seed companies now have adopted BMPs and have obtained County permits. This is a first victory in a new campaign against soil erosion polluting our waters.