STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2098

                                   Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                     , 2000

                                   RE:  S.B. No. 2998
                                        S.D. 1




Honorable Norman Mizuguchi
President of the Senate
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 2000
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs, to
which was referred S.B. No. 2998 entitled: 

     "A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO PROVIDE DATA
     FOR HYDRAULIC AND HYDROLOGIC FLOOD ANALYSES,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this bill is to appropriate $75,000 to the
Department of Land and Natural Resources to help fund the
operation and maintenance of streamflow and crest-stage gaging
stations that provide data for hydraulic and hydrologic flood
analyses.

     The Department of Land and Natural Resources did not support
the measure due to budget constraints. 

     Your Committee finds that the United States Geological
Survey currently operates ninety-five crest-stage gages as of
water year 2000.  The gages provide information on peak flows for
the streams upon which they are located.  The Honolulu Forecast
Office of the National Weather Service uses the historical record
from these gages, in conjunction with other data sources (e.g.,
continuous record gages, rain gages, etc.), to help determine
rainfall-to-runoff relationships for flood prone streams.  These
relationships are then used to determine thresholds of rainfall
for when a particular stream will start to experience flash
flooding.  The rainfall-to-runoff relationships are stream-
specific so it is obviously advantageous to have as much stream
flow data as possible.  Since forecasters cannot realistically

 
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have data for every stream, they apply the rainfall-to-runoff
relationships of instrumented stream basins to non-instrumented
stream basins with similar physical characteristics.

     Your Committee also finds that if not funded by the State,
the elimination of forty-seven crest-stage gage sites will occur.
This loss will negatively impact forecasters' ability to conduct
post-flood analyses and since the loss of forty-seven sites
represents a significant reduction in available peak flow data
across the State of Hawaii, forecasters will lose their ability
to accurately assess the conditions that occur during an actual
flood event.

     Your Committee has amended the bill by deleting the specific
appropriated amount.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Water, Land, and Hawaiian Affairs that is attached
to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and
purpose of S.B. No. 2998, as amended herein, and recommends that
it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B.
No. 2998, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and
Means.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Water, Land, and
                                   Hawaiian Affairs,



                                   ______________________________
                                   COLLEEN HANABUSA, Chair

 
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