HCR143

WHEREAS, a rainwater catchment system is based on the collection of rainwater and gravity flow pressure principles; and

WHEREAS, generally, in a rainwater catchment system, rainwater is channeled off the roof of a house by rain gutters into a standpipe with spigots at the bottom; and

WHEREAS, the pressure of the water in the standpipe pushes the water out when the spigots are opened; and

WHEREAS, however, it is possible to catch rainwater in anything that holds water, such as a barrel; and

WHEREAS, in some rural areas of Hawaii, there is no municipal water and drilling a well is prohibitively expensive; and

WHEREAS, it is estimated that as many as sixty thousand Hawaii residents currently depend on rainwater for most, if not all, of their household water needs, including drinking, bathing, washing, flushing, laundry, and gardening; and

WHEREAS, rainwater catchment systems help reduce the negative environmental impacts of storm water runoff that carries debris and pollutants into the waterways; and

WHEREAS, in arid areas or during droughts, rainwater catchment systems also provide water for fire emergencies; and

WHEREAS, considering that most of the State averages over one hundred inches of rain each year, Hawaii is particularly conducive to the use of rainwater catchment systems; and

WHEREAS, experts at the University of Hawaii, in the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, have been advising the public on rainwater catchment systems through the Rainwater Catchment System Outreach Program since 2000; and

WHEREAS, Patricia S. H. Macomber, an educational specialist with the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, authored Guidelines on Rainwater Catchment Systems in Hawaii, to provide best management practices for proper maintenance of rainwater catchment and storage systems to help residents improve the quality of their water supply; and

WHEREAS, the State should encourage the establishment of rainwater catchment and storage systems statewide; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the Senate concurring, that the Commission on Water Resource Management is requested to establish a task force to develop a program to increase the number of rainwater catchment and storage systems statewide. In establishing the task force, the Commission is requested to include representation from:

(1) The Department of Health, Safe Drinking Water Branch;

(2) The University of Hawaii, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Management;

(3) The University of Hawaii, Department of Microbiology and Water Resources Research Center;

(4) The Honolulu Board of Water Supply;

(5) The Kauai Department of Water;

(6) The Maui Department of Water Supply;

(7) The Hawaii Department of Water Supply;

(8) The planning department of each county; and

(9) Other interested stakeholders as determined by the Commission on Water Resource Management; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to:

(1) Meet at least monthly; and

(2) Submit a report on its findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources is requested to provide any administrative, professional, technical, and clerical support to the task force; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Commission on Water Resource Management, the Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Chief of the Safe Drinking Water Branch of the Department of Health, the Dean of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, the Dean of the College of Natural Sciences, the Manager of the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, the Manager of the Kauai Department of Water, the Director of the Maui Department of Water Supply, the Manager of the Hawaii Department of Water Supply, the Director of the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, the Director of the Hawaii Planning Department, the Director of the Kauai Department of Planning, and the Director of the Maui Department of Planning.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Water; Task Force; Rainwater Catchment and Storage Systems

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	143
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII