SR74

WHEREAS, for centuries, Hawai‘i has been blessed with consistent rainfall, advantageous geology for aquifers, and high quality drinking water stores; and

WHEREAS, recent findings, however, raise concerns about the long-term fresh water security for the State as the University of Hawai‘i and other scientists have documented troubling trends, including reduced rainfall, higher evaporation rates, and declining stream flows, in recent decades; and

WHEREAS, evidence suggests that rainfall has decreased twenty-two percent in Hawai‘i over the last thirty years, and while computer models differ markedly in their predictions regarding precipitation patterns and water availability in Hawai‘i over the coming decades, the unmistakable observed trend is one of decreasing rainfall and increased incidence of drought; and

WHEREAS, if the current trend holds, in 2030, Hawai‘i will receive only three-quarters of the rain that fell in 1985; and

WHEREAS, multiple prediction models tend to agree that regardless of overall rainfall amount, the dry or leeward sides of the islands, where the bulk of the State's population lives, will experience reduced rainfall and increased potential evapotranspiration, which simultaneously creates less supply and more demand; and

WHEREAS, increased runoff and lower aquifer recharge occur as the State converts open and agricultural land to development, and rising temperatures mean more evaporation from soil and surface water; and

WHEREAS, the State's population has doubled since statehood and is expected to double again in the next sixty years, which does not include the more than 200,000 tourists the State hosts each day; and

WHEREAS, along with the projected population rise, these trends generate a sense of uncertainty and urgency to guard the State's future water supply, and suggest that Hawai‘i is entering an era of fresh water uncertainty; and

WHEREAS, a drier, hotter future has serious consequences for the long-term availability of freshwater, and therefore the economic security, of this island state; and

WHEREAS, increasing the amount of water reuse in the State will alleviate pressure on fresh drinking water supplies; and

WHEREAS, Wai Maoli: Hawai‘i Fresh Water Initiative, organized by the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, was launched in 2013 to bring multiple, diverse parties together to develop a forward-thinking and consensus-based strategy to increase water security for the State, and has relied on a blue ribbon advisory panel of individuals with deep knowledge of water and a collaborative spirit to articulate a vision for a more secure and sustainable water future based on shared values and sacrifices; and

WHEREAS, unlike other blue ribbon advisory panels that disband after issuing their reports, members of the Wai Maoli: Hawai‘i Fresh Water Initiative have agreed to continue working together as a Fresh Water Council to help implement recommendations and are committed to seeing its recommendations adopted and implemented; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Health and the Hawai‘i Community Foundation are dedicated to the goal of increasing water reuse across the State by thirty million gallons per day by 2030; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that the Department of Health is requested to convene a task force to identify barriers and solutions to expanded water reuse in the State; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force be composed of the following members:

(1) The Deputy Director for Environmental Health Administration of the Department of Health, or the Deputy Director's designee;

(2) The Chairperson of the Fresh Water Council of Wai Maoli: Hawai‘i Fresh Water Initiative, or the Chairperson's designee;

(3) The Environmental Program Director of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation, or the Director's designee;

(4) A director-level representative, if the representative is willing to participate, from a county agency with permitting or implementation authority over water reuse in that county, to be designated by the Mayor of that respective county;

(5) The Chairperson of the House of Representatives Committee with subject matter purview over Water and Land, or the Chairperson's designee;

(6) The Chairperson of the Senate Committee with subject matter purview over Water and Land, or the Chairperson's designee; and

(7) A representative from the Legislative Reference Bureau, who shall provide legislative drafting assistance, if the task force proposes any legislation; and

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

(1) Collaborate with other federal, state, and county agencies and private entities;

(2) Review findings of how water reuse and gray water regulations are administered in other states, localities, and countries, and assess the feasibility of implementing similar regulations in Hawai‘i;

(3) Examine proposed language for future regulation or policy changes in Hawai‘i; and

(4) Identify and rank potential demonstration projects for water reuse in Hawai‘i; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to report 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 2019; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, Director of the Legislative Reference Bureau, Mayor of each county, Chairperson of the Hawai‘i Fresh Water Council, and President and Chief Executive Office of the Hawai‘i Community Foundation.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Water Reuse; Task Force; Report

THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	74
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018
STATE OF HAWAII