Ala Wai Canal

The Ala Wai Canal is an artificial waterway in Honolulu, Hawaii which serves as the northern boundary of the tourist district of Waikīkī. It was created in 1928 for the purpose of draining the rice paddies and swamps which would eventually become the tourist resort of Waikiki, and today also serves as a primary drainage corridor for the neighborhoods of central Honolulu.

The canal runs from just northwest of Kapahulu Avenue along the length of Waikīkī, then turns southwest to empty into the Pacific Ocean. Bridges cross the canal at McCully Street, Kalākaua Avenue, and Ala Moana Boulevard. Ala Wai Boulevard runs parallel to the canal along its length on the left bank.

History and construction

Before the canal existed, Waikiki consisted of wetlands which were fed by streams running from the Makiki, Palolo, and Manoa valleys to the sea. In the early 1900s, Lucius Pinkham, then President of the Territorial Board of Health, developed the idea of constructing a drainage canal to drain the wetlands, which he considered "unsanitary." Although the canal proposal was approved by the Board of Health, final approval did not occur until Pinkham became Governor of Hawaii.

Construction of the canal, by Walter Dillingham's Hawaiian Dredging company, began in 1921 and was completed in 1928. When the city was permitting for new buildings in Waikiki they required builders to build above sea level. Dillingham then sold the dirt he had dredged to create the canal so they could build up the newly created land.

The creation of the canal shunted the flow of the streams directly into the ocean, which resulted in the creation of several square miles of new real estate. The reclamation of these lands were considered pivotal in the eventual development of Waikiki as a tourist center. [Hawaii Section of the American Society of Civil Engineers, History and Heritage, September 1995 article. [http://www.ascehawaii.org/herit1995.html#0995] ]

Water quality issues

Being an artificial waterway, the canal has very low flow rate, and little to no natural organisms to filter and clean the water.Fact|date=February 2007 In addition, storm drains in the Honolulu neighborhoods of Waikīkī, Kapahulu, Mānoa, and Mookinailiokinaili empty into the canal. Because of this, signs are posted along the Ala Wai warning users not to swim in the water or eat fish caught from the canal. Despite the water quality issues, the canal remained a popular area for some forms of aquatic recreation, with canoe paddling teams practicing along the length of the canal.

The canal has been dredged several times, most recently in 2003.

In March 2006, heavy rains overwhelmed the sewers around the Ala Wai Canal, causing a pressurized sewage line to break. Mayor Mufi Hannemann decided to divert 48 million gallons of untreated sewage into the Ala Wai Canal in an attempt to avoid having the sewage back up into the hotels and residences. This sewage then tainted Waikiki and the nearby beaches, leading to closures of the beaches for health reasons. [Diana Leone, "48 million gallons spill in 6-day sewer break", "Honolulu Star-Bulletin". [http://starbulletin.com/2006/03/31/news/story01.html] ] One person died after falling in to the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor, with his death being attributed by some to the higher levels of bacteria present after the flood. [Rod Antone, "Tracing Oliver Johnson's final hours", "Honolulu Star-Bulletin". [http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/30/news/story02.html] ]

References