(a) Based on the findings and projections in the Oahu water management plan, provisions for an adequate supply of water to meet islandwide needs for at least 20 years shall be addressed. This shall be determined after evaluating the anticipated demand for water use from municipal, agricultural, military, and private users; the available remaining groundwater which can be safely developed; the planned and proposed water source development projects; and alternative water development projects underway.
(b) Based on these findings, the plan or strategy for water management shall be to continue to develop available groundwater sources but to preserve as much of the groundwater supply as possible, through the more efficient use of the existing water supply, an ongoing water conservation program, and by the continued development of alternative sources of water.
(c) The following strategies shall be applied in the development and use of water resources on Oahu:
(1) Strategy one. Develop water resources in consonance with the general plan population projections and the land use policies contained in the development plans and depicted on the development plan land use maps. Priority shall be given to affordable housing projects shown on the development plan land use maps or processed under HRS Chapter 201H;
(2) Strategy two. Continue to safely develop the remaining available groundwater in accordance with the requirements of the State water code.
(A) Substrategy A. The commission may continue to refine the accuracy of the sustainable yields in the water resources protection plan at the aquifer level to better guide decisions regarding future exploration and development of water sources.
(B) Substrategy B. The commission, in consultation with the board, may formulate a plan for the future exploration, monitoring, and development of groundwater resources based on the identified sustainable yields.
(3) Strategy three. Use surface water more effectively and efficiently.
(A) Substrategy A. The commission may compile an inventory of surface water use on Oahu for the purpose of determining existing use and projecting future use, given the present lack of information.
(B) Substrategy B. The commission may certify the unreported and undetermined quantities of surface water use in windward Oahu as part of its water registration program.
(4) Strategy four. Continue to refine the near and long-term projections of agriculture on the island to more accurately project the future net release of water currently committed to agricultural use.
(A) Substrategy A. The State department of agriculture may inventory and project diversified agriculture including the irrigated acreage, method of irrigation, source of water, and the quantity and quality of water use.
(B) Substrategy B. The commission may seek to establish the necessary commission procedures to more readily transfer water allocations from agricultural to municipal use, especially where urban or other agricultural uses replace sugarcane lands.
(5) Strategy five. Maintain an ongoing water conservation program through the board, using such approaches as pricing, public information, educational programs, water-saving devices, and use restrictions and allocations;
(6) Strategy six. Develop and use nonpotable water sources, wherever feasible, for the irrigation of agricultural crops, parks and golf courses, landscaping, and for certain industrial uses.
(A) Substrategy A. Support the exchange of nonpotable water, wherever feasible, for potable water, which is being used for irrigation to preserve more of Oahu’s potable supply for domestic use.
(B) Substrategy B. Pursue opportunities to blend brackish water with potable water to produce a greater supply of potable water.
(C) Substrategy C. Support and pursue the reuse of treated wastewater effluent for irrigation or groundwater recharge wherever feasible.
(7) Strategy seven. Continue efforts to develop economical methods of demineralizing brackish water and desalting seawater.
(A) Substrategy A. Support the demonstration and expansion of the State’s desalinization pilot project.
(B) Substrategy B. Continue research to develop more economical methods for desalting seawater for municipal purposes (e.g., an open cycle method of ocean thermal energy conversion or OTEC).
(1990 Code, Ch. 30, Art. 2, § 30-2.3) (Added by Ord. 90-62; Am. Ord. 10-17)