Section 4-157-4 - Conservation measures and interruption of water supply(a) The department shall exercise reasonable diligence and care to deliver an adequate supply of water to the consumer and to avoid shortage or interruptions in water service, whenever possible, but shall not be liable for any interruption, shortage, insufficiency of supply, or any loss or damage occasioned thereby.(b) Whenever, in the administrator-chief engineer's opinion, special conservation measures are deemed necessary to forestall a water shortage and a consequent emergency, the administrator-chief engineer may restrict or ration the use of water by any reasonable method of control. Livestock watering customers shall install an automatic water flow control device to prevent waste or continued overflow from livestock drinking troughs. Each device shall be approved by the irrigation district manager prior to installation and shall be tested periodically to determine its functionality.(c) To ensure that a continuous water supply is available to livestock, the department may require those consumers with a large herd (more than fifty animals) of animals to install an adequate means of storage for water or reservoir on their property.(d) The department reserves the right at any and all times to shut off water from the mains with reasonable notice for the purpose of making repairs, extensions, alterations, or for other reasons. Consumers who require a continuous supply of water shall provide, at their own cost, emergency water storage and any check valves or other devices necessary for the protection of equipment or fixtures against failure of the pressure or supply of water in the department's main. Repairs or improvements shall be carried out as rapidly as practicable and at the time or times as will cause the least inconvenience to consumers.(e) The department will deliver water to the land of each consumer at the ground elevation and at the outlet site as the department may establish upon each consumer's land convenient with the operation of the 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(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;(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, 167-1)