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Show Chapter 11. HAWAII CONTENTS Page 1. Development of Hawaii Water Law_____________________________243 2. State Organizational Structure for Water Administration and Control___244 2.1 Administration of Water Rights_________________________244 2.2 Resolution of Water Use Conflicts_______________________244 2.3 Other Agencies Having Water Resource Responsibilities______246 ¦3. Surface Waters.-...........__________________________________248 3.1 Method of Acquiring Rights___________________________ 248 3.2 Nature and Limit of Rights____________________________ 251 3.3 Changes, Sales, and Transfers__________________________ 252 3.4 Loss of Rights______________________________________ 252 3.5 Springs____________________________________________ 253 3.6 Diffused Surface Waters_______________________________ 253 4. Ground Water_________________________________________.____ 254 Publications Available__________________________________________ 257 DISCUSSION 1. Development of Hawaii Water Law The Hawaiian system of water rights is unique. It is an outgrowth of ancient customs in that area, and many of the governing princi- ples are directly related to the development of the land titles in the Hawaiian Islands. The Hawaiian system of water rights dates from ancient times when these islands were ruled by a King. The King was the owner of all the land and natural resources, including the water, and he made certain allocations of land to inferior chiefs who, in turn, placed tenants in possession of portions of the property. As the settlement and development of the area progressed, several statutes were enacted pursuant to which the King surrendered por- tions of his domain to the people. As will be discussed in greater detail in a subsequent section of this chapter, the owner of the land also owned the water. However, this ownership was subject to other rights which may have been established from the same stream. Cer- tain rights attached as a result of usage on the various units of land. In addition to these ancient appurtenant rights, other classes of rights were recognized, including rights acquired by virtue of prescriptive use, statutory rights for domestic use, and, to a limited extent, riparian rights. Eights also were acquired by grant. The waters of a watercourse are essentially privately owned and are not dedi- cated to the public. The appropriation doctrine that has been es- tablished in the western United States has never been recognized in Hawaii. With regard to ground water, Hawaii has applied the doctrine of correlative rights for artesian areas; presumably, this concept also applies to percolating ground water. It appears that the Hawaii 243 499-242-73-----17 |
