Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-03-10
Measure to Regulate Water
Waste Draws Crowd Before
House Committee

House bill 125, which relates to the
use of water from artesian wells and
which makes the malicious or wilful
waste of such water a misdemeanor,
was discussed pro and con last night
at hearing iE the hall of representa-
tives before the committee on agri-
culture, of which Representative t. H..
Petrie is chairman.
Among those who attended the meet
ing were c. III. Atherton. G. c. Won
Hamm, Attorney ID. l.. Wilmington,
counsel for the Honolulu Rapid Tran
sit & Land Company: Judge William
L. Whitney, Harry E. Murray, Frank
E. Blake, manager of the Hawaiian
Electric Company; Attorney William
T. Rawlins, r. A. Cooke, Attorney l..
j. Warren, counsel for the Territorial
Hotel Co.; A. A. Young, George Klue-
gel, Mayor j. c. Lane, Deputy Attor-
ney General Arthur G.. Smith, Thomas
F. Sedgwick and Roger c. Rice.
Says Wells Obey Rules
r. c. Rice OF the department of by
biography said that there are 142 ar
tesian wells from Red Hill to Moiliili,
that they are all in good condition and
that their owners have complied with
the laws regarding Gaping. Many Of
these wells, he explained. are used for
irrigation, especially in Moiliili, while
others are used by industrial concerns.
Some of the concerns either apply
their water to irrigation after it has
been used once, or convert it to its
own source. At the end OF 1916, he
explained, a majority of the wells in
Honolulu were about 80 feet above
sea level He added that the bill now
before the house was drawn by the
water commission with a view to con-
serving Honolulus water supply.
Sedgwfck explained that, In the Ho-
nolulu DISCREET. there were a number
of underground water basins, the
drawing of water from one not affect
ing the others. In some instances the
water viii rise in the wells in Moi
liili and fall in those in Honolulu, or
vice-versa, and thus far no dividing
line has been found
Supply is Being Depleted
That Honolulu's water supply is be.
ing depleted was the assertion of the
deputy attorney general, who declared
that, if there was plenty Of water 1t
would not be necessary to frame laws
regulating its use. 1t is not the aim
of the measure, he said, to prevent cor
porations from using water from aTte-
sian wells in their condensers to make
steam to run their machinery. There
are no defects in the present law, he
added, with the exception that arte.i
sian water and artesian wells are not
defined.
ConstitutionaIity Questioned.
Attorney wilmington informally
raised the question as to the constitu-
tionality of at least three sections of
the proposed new law. He explained
he thought it would be unwise legisla-
ton to pass a bill about which nothing
was known. He doubted very much,
he said, whether that portion of the
bill seeking to regulate the use of wa.
ter by owners OF wells was constitu-
tional because, he added, it is held
that man has the exclusive right to
any water he may dig on his own land
He also thought that section z, giving
certain officers the right to at any
time enter the premises OF an own
er of well to get record, was I'M
constitutional
Il should like to see case where
man cannot use the water on his own
land as he sees fit said the attorney