The Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) has been approved by the DOH ~ ensuring quality data from Hui O Ka Wai Ola!

A Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Hui O Ka Wai Ola has recently been approved and signed  by the Hawai'i Department of Health (DOH) Clean Water Branch! This means that the data gathered by Hui O Ka Wai Ola's Clean Water Team can be  integrated with information from the DOH, expanding data gathering efforts beyond the single Health Department employee responsible for all water-quality monitoring on Maui.

The state officially signed off on the program Feb. 28, 2017 - a groundbreaking agreement for Maui Nui. ​Hui volunteers, however, have been collecting data under the QAPP standards since June 2016 after receiving a verbal OK from the Health Department, which was giving the plan its final review at the time.

Hui O Ka Wai Ola volunteers will be following the QAPP’s strict monitoring methods on a periodic schedule to cover all conditions and not focusing on rain or tide events. The current schedule calls for collecting data every three weeks by three teams with responsibilities for six sites each. The teams are currently monitoring for nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorous from runoff, which can damage coral reefs and fish habitats, ocean salinity, acidity content, temperature, dissolved oxygen, and suspended sediment in the water.

The approved QAPP can be found below, and also on our FOR VOLUNTEERS page under "Regulatory."