Native Hawaiian water rights
HRS §174C-101
in effect174C-101. Native Hawaiian water rights
(a) Provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to amend or modify rights or entitlements to water as provided for by the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, 1920, as amended, and by chapters 167 and 168, relating to the Molokai irrigation system. Decisions of the commission on water resource management relating to the planning for, regulation, management, and conservation of water resources in the State shall, to the extent applicable and consistent with other legal requirements and authority, incorporate and protect adequate reserves of water for current and foreseeable development and use of Hawaiian home lands as set forth in section 221 of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act.
(b) No provision of this chapter shall
diminish or extinguish trust revenues derived from existing water licenses
unless compensation is made.
(c) Traditional and customary rights of ahupua`a
tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian
Islands prior to 1778 shall not be abridged or denied by this chapter. Such
traditional and customary rights shall include, but not be limited to, the
cultivation or propagation of taro on one's own kuleana and the gathering of
hihiwai, opae, o`opu, limu, thatch, ti leaf, aho cord, and medicinal plants for
subsistence, cultural, and religious purposes.
(d) The appurtenant
water rights of kuleana and taro lands, along with those traditional and
customary rights assured in this section, including access by the holder
thereof to conduct activities necessary to assure the use, delivery, and
quality of water including temperature and turbidity, that shall not be
unreasonably withheld, shall not be diminished or extinguished by a failure to
apply for or to receive a permit under this chapter.
[L 1987, c 45, pt of
§2; am L 1991, c 325, §8; am L 2022, c 27, §5]
Source: Hawaii State Legislature (capitol.hawaii.gov), via Internet Archive capturesURL: http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/hrscurrent/Vol03_Ch0121-0200D/HRS0174C/HRS_0174C-0101.htmFetched: 11/10/2026