How water is divided when supply gets low

A. The board shall inform the council when the groundwater withdrawal, including projected withdrawal based upon approved permits and water meters, reaches sixty percent of the sustainable yield of an area. B. The council shall determine the allocation of water withdrawn or transmitted or both, through the department's water system for each of the various land use categories contained in the community plans, to be applied when withdrawal, including projected withdrawal based upon approved permits and water meters, reaches seventy percent of the sustainable yield of an area. C. The allocations should consider the land use policies contained in the applicable community plan. D. The department shall not cause total groundwater withdrawal, including projected withdrawal based upon approved permits and water meters, through the department's water system to be more than the sustainable yield of an area. E. No permit shall be processed for any projects for which estimated water use, withdrawn or transmitted or both, through the department's water system would cause the allocation for the land use category of the appropriate community plan to be exceeded, unless the applicant executes an agreement, acceptable and approved as to form and legality by the corporation counsel, acknowledging that water through the department's water system may be unavailable for the project and that applicant assumes the risk of such unavailability. F. The allocations shall continue for so long as the withdrawal exceeds seventy percent of the sustainable yield of an area and until the State designates an area as a water management area pursuant to chapter 174C, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes. G. The council shall adopt the allocations for each land use category of the appropriate community plan by ordinance and may revise, amend or modify the allocations as necessary to effectuate land use policy. H. The council shall conduct a public hearing prior to the adoption of an allocation plan. The public hearing shall be held in the district, as set forth in chapter 4, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, to be affected by the allocation. (Ord. 2003 § 1, 1991)