Commission on Water Resource Management

The Commission on Water Resource Management administers Hawaii's State Water Code, which establishes water as a public trust resource. The Commission designates water management areas, sets sustainable yield limits for aquifers, adjudicates competing water use claims, and issues water use permits. Eia kekahi, resolves disputes between agricultural, municipal, and environmental water users.

Water allocation decisions affect agriculture, housing development, stream ecosystems, and traditional Hawaiian gathering rights. The Commission's hearings on water use permits and management area designations are where residents, farmers, Kanaka ʻŌiwi practitioners, and developers make their case for how Hawaii's limited freshwater should be shared.