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Show HAWAII 711 HAWAII Occurrences of Ground Water in Hawaii The Hawaiian Islands were formed by volcanic action in the ocean. There- fore, the physical conditions that influence the occurrence of ground water in this archipelago differ in many important respects from those on the mainland. All occurrences of ground water in the Islands have been grouped into (1) basal water, which consists of the great body of fresh water which lies below the main water table and which "floats" on salt water, and (2) high-level water, which comprises bodies of ground water held up above this main water table.224 Origin and Source of Ground Water Ground water, to be usable, for most ordinary purposes, generally must be fresh water. On any island in this archipelago the fresh water apparently can come from no source other than precipitation upon that island, the presump- tion being that the salt water of the ocean originally saturated the permeable rocks below sea level to which it could gain access. An intriguing concept has been developed in an effort to afford a logical explanation of the origin of ground water in the Islands. It assumes ideal conditions relating to an imaginary simple island which, however, do not fully obtain. With that warning to the reader, a cross-section of the island would comprise (1) a bottom section of rock entirely below sea level, having a con- cave upper surface with its edges at the seashore, the rock being saturated with salt water from the ocean and in contact with the ocean water; (2) an inter- mediate section in the shape of a double-convex lens, lying partly above but mostly below sea level and with its edges at the seashore, saturated with fresh water in contact with the salt water that saturates the rock in the bottom section, the contact area being a belt or zone of diffusion of fresh and salt water; and (3) an upper section of rock constituting an aerated zone, in which part of the water that is intermittently precipitated upon the island percolates downward to join the body of fresh water occupying the intermediate This section of the 1965 act also provided that "A permit to construct a well shall not have the effect of granting nor conferring a ground water right upon the user, nor shall anything in this section be so construed. Nevertheless, the permit shall be a necessary prerequisite for the initiation of a new or additional supply and shall be prima facie evidence of the date and extent thereof." However, this provision was repealed by Laws 1971, ch. 370, § 5, p. 1325, Laws 1971, ch. 370, § 3, p. 1324, amended this section of the 1965 act so as to specifically require a finding "that there is unappropriated water available for withdrawal by the proposed well" before issuing a permit. 224 Stearns, T., "Ground-Water Resources," First Progress Report, Territorial Planning Board of Hawaii, p. 142 (1939). The physical and legal aspects of this topic are presented at length in Hutchins, W. A., 'The Hawaiian System of Water Rights" (1946). |