Hawaii's state land department is blocking Maui County's push to take over the island's biggest water system, setting up a fight that upsets local farmers and environmentalists.

• East Maui Irrigation pulls water from streams on Haleakala and pipes most of it to Mahipono, a large farm on 50,000 acres of old sugar land.
• Maui County wants to take over and run one unified water system, saying it understands local needs better than the state.
• State land managers are rejecting that and instead want to keep control and auction Mahipono a 30-year license for up to 89 million gallons a day.
• Taro farmers and environmentalists say they feel betrayed and don't trust the state's cozy ties with Mahipono.
• Mahipono says traditional and cultural users would come first and it gets water only after everyone else is served.

Outlook: The state land board takes up the latest proposal this Friday, and with the state having lost eight East Maui water cases in the last decade, another legal fight looks likely.