Hawaii Administrative Rules › Title 13 - DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES › Subtitle 7 - WATER RESOURCES › Chapter 171 - DESIGNATION AND REGULATION OF WATER MANAGEMENT AREAS › Subchapter 1 - GENERAL PROVISIONS › Section 13-171-2 - Definitions

Current through June, 2024
As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise
					 requires:
"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 use.
"Commission" means the commission on water resource
					 management.
"Contested case" means a proceeding in which the legal
					 rights, duties, or privileges of specific parties are required by law to be
					 determined after an opportunity for an agency hearing.
"Continuous flowing water" means a sufficient flow of
					 water that could provide for migration and movement of aquatic life 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.
"Deputy" means the deputy to the chairperson of the
					 commission on water resource management.
"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.
"Ground water" means any water found beneath the surface
					 of the earth, whether or not in perched, dike-confined, or basal supply; in
					 underground channels or streams; in standing, percolating, or flowing
					 condition; or under artesian pressure.
"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 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 aquatic life 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.
"Person" means any individual, firm, association,
					 organization, partnership, estate, trust, corporation, company, or any
					 governmental unit.
"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 not wasteful and is both reasonable and
					 consistent with the state and county land use plans and the public
					 interest.
"Stream diversion" means the act of removing water from a
					 stream into a channel, pipeline, or other conduit.
"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 watercourse, lakes,
					 and reservoirs) and diffused surface water (that is, water occurring upon the
					 surface of the ground other than in contained waterbodies). 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.
"Water" or "waters of the state" means any and all water
					 on or beneath 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.
"Water management area" means a geographic area which has
					 been designated pursuant to chapter 13-171 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 any excavation or opening into the ground, or
					 an artifical enlargement of a natural opening drilled, tunneled, dug, or
					 otherwise constructed for the location, exploration, development, injection, or
					 recharge of ground water and by which ground water is drawn or is capable of
					 being withdrawn or made to flow.