HAR §4-157-4. department's irrigation system, and it shall be the responsibility of each consumer to provide for the distribution of the water upon the consumer's land by the consumer's own method

(f) During seasonal drought periods, a shortage of irrigation water within an irrigation system may occur. During these periods, the department shall continue to supply irrigation and livestock drinking water as available. However, the department shall use its best judgment in allocating the available agricultural water in a manner that it deems fair and equitable. (g) The department reserves the right in times of declared emergency to allow the use of irrigation water for emergency purposes. Charges for the water used shall be established by the board based on the nature of the emergency and attendant circumstances. (h) The department reserves the right to allocate water use in the following order of priority as it may deem necessary to: (1) Preserve crops and harvests on agricultural and aquacultural lands; (2) Preserve animal life; and (3) Irrigate pasture. (i) During periods of low rainfall or drought, the department shall develop notices and criteria on the manner in which water will be delivered, restricted, and allocated for the duration of the emergency. Violations of the restrictions or allocations may result in the discontinuance of service, additional water toll surcharges, or the removal of the water connection. (j) Upon declaration of emergency conditions and implementation of mandatory conservation measures (i.e., ten per cent, twenty per cent, or thirty per cent cutbacks), consumers exceeding the level of mandatory cutback shall be assessed a surcharge as follows: (1) Mandatory ten per cent conservation - consumers shall be assessed a surcharge of ten cents per thousand gallons of water consumed in excess of ninety per cent of their average use as calculated by the administrator-chief engineer; 157-8 §4-157-5 (2) Mandatory twenty per cent conservation - consumers shall be assessed a surcharge of twenty cents per thousand gallons of water consumed in excess of eighty per cent of their average use as calculated by the administrator-chief engineer; and (3) Mandatory thirty per cent conservation - consumers shall be assessed a surcharge of thirty cents per thousand gallons of water consumed in excess of seventy per cent of their average use as calculated by the administrator-chief engineer. (k) Notwithstanding any provision herein to the contrary, subsection (j) shall not apply to the users of the Molokai Irrigation System who are also lessees of the department of Hawaiian home lands (homesteaders), provided that an actual need is shown and the homesteader's aggregate irrigation water consumption remains at or below two-thirds of the water developed in the first phase of the construction of the Molokai Irrigation System, based on the most current monthly three year average of non-drought years. Should the homesteader's use exceed the homesteader's two-thirds preference, the homesteader shall be subject to the terms and conditions contained in subsection (j). The homesteader shall be subject to subsection (j) until the homesteader's usage falls to a two-thirds to one-third ratio or less, based on the most current monthly three year average of non-drought years, or until the conservation notice for the Molokai Irrigation System is canceled, whichever first occurs. [Eff MAR 17 2006] (Auth: HRS §167-5) (Imp: HRS §§167-5, 167-6, 167-11, 167-19)