Water and the law in Hawaiì

About this book

"Water and the Law in Hawaii provides an intellectual and legal framework for understanding both the past and future of Hawaii's freshwater resources. It covers not only the laws governing the balancing act between preservation and use, but also the science of aquifers and streams and the customs and traditions practiced by ancient and present-day Hawaiians on the land and in the water. In placing Hawaii water law in the context of its historical development, the author condenses an enormous amount of information on traditional Hawaiian social structure and mythology. His analysis and explanation of the Hawaii Supreme Court decisions on water rights pose difficult questions and reveal the Court's at times defective reasoning by referring readers to original source material. He is the first author to fully explain how water use permits will play out in a variety of circumstances that may arise in the future, and he discusses the interrelationship between the State Water Code and the common law on water rights, which few people understand or are aware of."--BOOK JACKET.