When attorney Jim Paul announced that he was going to try to explain, in 15 minutes, how court decisions – the Waiahole ditch decisions, in particular – affect water use, the small crowd before him erupted in giggles.

Paul had been assigned the topic by Hawai`i’s Thousand Friends, which sponsored a day-long water issues workshop on September 22 at the Harris Methodist Church in Honolulu.

Everyone in the room – long-time “water junkies”, attorneys, or representatives from state and county agencies – knew how complicated court decisions on water are and how difficult they can be to explain.

Even so, Paul spent most of his time discussing the results of an anecdotal survey he made of more than 25 people, from the private and public sector, who deal with water issues on a daily basis.