Is it OK to defrost chicken by running water over it?
It is common to brine a bird in a water solution so I doubt the water can hurt it.  

For speed I would place it in a like a dish pan covered with water and just run a small amount of water to displace the cooled water.  You would get maximum water contact for maximum heat transfer.  And you would better keep the skin under 40 while thawing out the center.