Definitions for Reclaimed Water Rules

Whenever used in this chapter, unless a different meaning clearly appears from the context, certain words and terms are defined as follows: "Agricultural consumers" means all agricultural consumers, including golf courses, that use less than three million gallons of reclaimed water per day based upon average daily flow. "Agricultural uses" means those agricultural uses, when using reclaimed water, that are regulated by the State of Hawaii department of health. "Available reclaimed water service" means the existence of a reclaimed water distribution main contiguous to or within two hundred fifty feet of any consumer's property line. "Avoided cost" means any and all expenses of an existing consumer to operate and maintain its existing non-potable irrigation system from the nonpotable water source to the reservoir(s), as annually reviewed and approved by the director at the time of connection to the county reuse system and adjusted for inflation, if any, based on the Consumer Price Index, each year thereafter. Avoided cost shall include the same factors used by the public utilities commission of the State of Hawaii when it considers a request by a private water company to grant a permanent rate increase. These factors shall include, but are not limited to, salaries and wages (total man-hours per month and average wage rate to operate and maintain the nonpotable irrigation system, including accounting time), administrative fees (for management support), professional fees (including audit fees and consultant fees), and miscellaneous expenses (including dues and subscriptions, education and travel expenses, bad debt expenses, fringe benefits, income and payroll taxes, depreciation expense, repairs and maintenance, supplies, insurance, rent, utilities, any public service company tax and any public utilities commission fee). "Connection fee" means the fee to be paid by the reclaimed water consumer as the consumer's pro rata share for the construction costs for the reclaimed water facilities serving the consumer. "Construction purposes" means the use of reclaimed water during construction activities, including but not limited to dust control, concrete mixing, street cleaning, water jetting, and flushing sanitary sewers. "Consumer" means any user of reclaimed water who is required to connect to an available reclaimed water service pursuant to this chapter. "Cost to retrofit" means all one-time costs which have been approved by the director and are necessary to retrofit the consumer's existing irrigation system to accommodate the reuse of reclaimed water, including any connection fees and capital improvement costs, such as the cost to install monitoring wells and lysimeters, but excluding any on-going costs such as rates, interest, maintenance, operation, and monitoring costs. "Cross-connection" means any connection between any part of a water system used or intended to supply water for drinking purposes and any source or system containing reclaimed water or any other auxiliary water supply that is not or cannot be approved as safe for human consumption. "Department" means the department of environmental management. "Director" means the director of environmental management or the director's authorized representative. "Discontinuation of service" means the cessation of reclaimed water service. "Duplex" means property used primarily for two-family dwellings as defined in section 19.04.040 of this code. "Existing consumer" means a user of an existing non-potable irrigation system required by this chapter to use reclaimed water as of the effective date of this chapter. "Improved commercial property" means all property, including but not limited to golf courses, irrigated landscaping and agricultural uses, except for property used for single-family or duplex purposes. "Installation charge" means the charge to the user for time and materials required to install the reclaimed water meter. "Irrigation system" means any permanent irrigation system, commonly composed of items including but not limited to underground pipes and necessary appurtenances thereto, used for the watering of turf grass, lawns, landscaping, and green space. "Major agricultural consumers" means those agricultural consumers, including golf courses, that use more than three million gallons of reclaimed water per day based on average daily flow, or that have more than 400 acres served by the reclaimed water distribution system, or that have any pasture land served by the reclaimed water distribution system. "Peak daily usage" means the maximum amount of reclaimed water used on any given day over a calendar year based on actual usage or estimates of peak daily usage by a registered engineer or architect and as approved by the director. "Pilot project" means any reuse application that has not previously used reclaimed water to determine compatibility with the consumer's intended use. "Pro rata share" means the consumer's estimated or actual peak daily usage in proportion to the construction costs incurred by the county for the reclaimed water facilities serving the consumer. "Reclaimed water" means wastewater that is rated R-1 water, as defined by the State of Hawaii department of health, and is reused after flowing out of a wastewater treatment facility. "Reclaimed water distribution system" means facilities consisting of, but not limited to, distribution mains, valves, and appurtenances used to distribute reclaimed water to consumers. "Reclaimed water facilities" mean all facilities required for the production, storage, transmission, and distribution of reclaimed water owned by the county. "Reclaimed water rates" means the charge per thousand gallons of reclaimed water according to the quality of the reclaimed water used as set forth in the annual budget. "Reuse irrigation system" means those facilities located on the consumer's side of the service connection for the purpose of using reclaimed water. "Single-family" means property used primarily for single-family dwellings as defined in section 19.04.040 of this code. ( Ord. No. 5592 , § 3, 2024; Ord. 2687 § 4, 1998; Ord. 2564 § 1, 1997; Ord. 2525 § 1 (part), 1996)