The Maui News - Wailuku Water Distribution Co. is seeking permission from the state to organize as a public utility in order to continue service, set new water rates and keep its contracts. As a utility, Wailuku Water could stay afloat in the water business as it faces ongoing disputes over water rights with farmers, environmentalists and Native Hawaiians. The company, an affiliate of Wailuku Water Co. and rooted in the former Wailuku Sugar Co., owns a vast watershed in West Maui and controls a system of ditches that has captured and channeled water from the four Na Wai Eha streams for about 150 years. Wailuku Water Distribution Co. requested a certificate of public convenience and necessity from the state Public Utilities Commission in order to continue to provide nonpotable water service in Central Maui—specifically, to the communities and farmers in Waihe‘e, Waiehu, Puuohala, Wailuku and Waikapu. Company supporters say it provides reliable service that the community needs and helps maintain hundreds of jobs. “We feel we have an important role to fill here to deliver water to these customers,” said Wailuku Water Co. President Avery Chumbley. “We provide an overall benefit to the larger community.”