§174C-3  Definitions.  As used in this
chapter, unless the context otherwise requires:



"Agricultural use" means the use of
water for the growing, processing, and treating of crops, livestock, aquatic
plants and animals, and ornamental flowers and similar foliage.



"Authorized planned use" means the
use or projected use of water by a development that has received the proper
state land use designation and county development plan/community plan
approvals.



"Board" means the board of land and
natural resources.



"Chairperson" means the chairperson
of the commission on water resource management.



"Change in use" means any
modification or change in water use from or to domestic, municipal, military,
agriculture (including agricultural processing), or industrial uses.



"Channel alteration" means:  (1) to
obstruct, diminish, destroy, modify, or relocate a stream channel; (2) to
change the direction of flow of water in a stream channel; (3) to place any
material or structures in a stream channel; and (4) to remove any material or
structures from a stream channel.



"Commission" means the commission on
water resource management.



"Continuous flowing water" means a
sufficient flow of water that could provide for migration and movement of fish,
and includes those reaches of streams which, in their natural state, normally
go dry seasonally at the location of the proposed alteration.



"Department" means the department of
land and natural resources.



"Domestic use" means any use of water
for individual personal needs and for household purposes such as drinking,
bathing, heating, cooking, noncommercial gardening, and sanitation.



"Emergency" means the absence of a
sufficient quantity and quality of water in any area whether designated or not
which threatens the public health, safety, and welfare as determined by the
commission.



"Existing agricultural use" means
replacing or alternating the cultivation of any agricultural crop with any
other agricultural crop, which shall not be construed as a change in use.



"Ground water" means any water found
beneath the surface of the earth, whether in perched supply, dike-confined,
flowing, or percolating in underground channels or streams, under artesian
pressure or not, or otherwise.



"Hydrologic unit" means a surface
drainage area or a ground water basin or a combination of the two.



"Impoundment" means any lake,
reservoir, pond, or other containment of surface water occupying a bed or
depression in the earth's surface and having a discernible shoreline.



"Instream flow standard" means a quantity
or flow of water or depth of water which is required to be present at a
specific location in a stream system at certain specified times of the year to
protect fishery, wildlife, recreational, aesthetic, scenic, and other
beneficial instream uses.



"Instream use" means beneficial uses
of stream water for significant purposes which are located in the stream and
which are achieved by leaving the water in the stream.  Instream uses include,
but are not limited to:



(1)  Maintenance of fish and wildlife habitats;



(2)  Outdoor recreational activities;



(3)  Maintenance of ecosystems such as estuaries,
wetlands, and stream vegetation;



(4)  Aesthetic values such as waterfalls and scenic
waterways;



(5)  Navigation;



(6)  Instream hydropower generation;



(7)  Maintenance of water quality;



(8)  The conveyance of irrigation and domestic water
supplies to downstream points of diversion; and



(9)  The protection of traditional and customary
Hawaiian rights.



"Interim instream flow standard"
means a temporary instream flow standard of immediate applicability, adopted by
the commission without the necessity of a public hearing, and terminating upon
the establishment of an instream flow standard.



"Municipal use" means the domestic,
industrial, and commercial use of water through public services available to
persons of a county for the promotion and protection of their health, comfort,
and safety, for the protection of property from fire, and for the purposes
listed under the term "domestic use".



"Noninstream use" means the use of
stream water that is diverted or removed from its stream channel and includes
the use of stream water outside of the channel for domestic, agricultural, and
industrial purposes.



"Nonregulated use" means any use of
water which is exempted from regulation by the provisions of this code.



"Person" means any and all persons,
natural or artificial, including an individual, firm, association,
organization, partnership, business trust, corporation, company, the United
States of America, the State of Hawaii, and all political subdivisions,
municipalities, and public agencies thereof.



"Reasonable-beneficial use" means the
use of water in such a quantity as is necessary for economic and efficient
utilization, for a purpose, and in a manner which is both reasonable and
consistent with the state and county land use plans and the public interest.



"Stream" means any river, creek,
slough, or natural watercourse in which water usually flows in a defined bed or
channel.  It is not essential that the flowing be uniform or uninterrupted. 
The fact that some parts of the bed or channel have been dredged or improved
does not prevent the watercourse from being a stream.



"Stream channel" means a natural or
artificial watercourse with a definite bed and banks which periodically or
continuously contains flowing water.  The channel referred to is that which
exists at the present time, regardless of where the channel may have been
located at any time in the past.



"Stream diversion" means the act of
removing water from a stream into a channel, pipeline, or other conduit.



"Stream reach" means a segment of a
stream channel having a defined upstream and downstream point.



"Stream system" means the aggregate
of water features comprising or associated with a stream, including the stream
itself and its tributaries, headwaters, ponds, wetlands, and estuary.



"Surface water" means both contained
surface water--that is, water upon the surface of the earth in bounds created
naturally or artificially including, but not limited to, streams, other
watercourses, lakes, reservoirs, and coastal waters subject to state
jurisdiction--and diffused surface water--that is, water occurring upon the
surface of the ground other than in contained water bodies.  Water from natural
springs is surface water when it exits from the spring onto the earth's
surface.



"Sustainable yield" means the maximum
rate at which water may be withdrawn from a water source without impairing the
utility or quality of the water source as determined by the commission.



"Time of withdrawal or diversion"
means, in view of the nature, manner, and purposes of a reasonable and
beneficial use of water, the most accurate method of describing the time when
the water is withdrawn or diverted, including description in terms of hours, days,
weeks, months, or physical, operational, or other conditions.



"Water" or "waters of the
State" means any and all water on or beneath the surface of the ground,
including natural or artificial watercourses, lakes, ponds, or diffused surface
water and water percolating, standing, or flowing beneath the surface of the
ground.



"Watercourse" means a stream and any
canal, ditch, or other artificial watercourse in which water usually flows in a
defined bed or channel.  It is not essential that the flowing be uniform or
uninterrupted.



"Water management area" means a
geographic area which has been designated pursuant to section 174C-41 as
requiring management of the ground or surface water resource, or both.



"Water source" means a place within
or from which water is or may be developed, including but not limited to:  (1)
generally, an area such as a watershed defined by topographic boundaries, or a
definitive ground water body; and (2) specifically, a particular stream, other
surface water body, spring, tunnel, or well or related combination thereof.



"Well" means an artificial excavation
or opening into the ground, or an artificial enlargement of a natural opening
by which ground water is drawn or is or may be used or can be made to be usable
to supply reasonable and beneficial uses within the State. [L 1987, c 45, pt of
§2; am L 1998, c 101, §2]



 



Case Notes



 



  Commission did not err in excluding golf course irrigation
from the category of "agricultural use".  94 H. 97, 9 P.3d 409.



  The "reasonable-beneficial use" standard and the
related criterion of "consistent with the public interest" demand
examination of the proposed use not only standing alone, but also in relation
to other public and private uses and the particular water source in question;
thus, permit applicants requesting water diverted from streams must duly take
into account the public interest in instream flows.  94 H. 97, 9 P.3d 409.



  Where it could not be said that closure of hotel and golf
course would have no impact on applicant's proposed uses in light of commission
on water resource management's findings and conclusions pursuant to the
"reasonable-beneficial use" standard set forth in §174C-49 and
defined in this section, commission's reliance on §174C-58(4), allowing
applicant four years to fulfill its proposed uses before the commission may
suspend or revoke a permit, was misplaced; as commission failed to consider the
impact the closures may have on applicant's proposed uses when it made its
proposed use allocation decision, proposed use permit vacated.  116 H. 481, 174
P.3d 320.