Streams Rivers

Earthjustice cases restoring water to native streams…

February 12, 2018

Feb 2018: Earthjustice.

Water in Hawaiʻi is a public trust resource, protected under the state Constitution and Water Code. Plantations diverted many Hawaiian streams to water sugar cane and pineapple fields, drying out and destroying the native life and Hawaiian communities connected with those streams. Now that plantations are in decline, the water can be restored to the native streams.

A continued series of cases, brought by Earthjustice on behalf of our clients, has reaffirmed the legal principle of water as a public trust and methodically succeeded in restoring flows to traditional uses.

Read about the cases here…

New State of Hawaii Brown Water Beach Website

December 5, 2017

December: (Kobayashi Comment: This new State of Hawaii website is an excellent example of the fusion of GIS mapping capabilities with water data. I strongly support such efforts and commend the DOH and Clean Water Branch for taking this first step)

HONOLULU — The Hawaii State Department of Health (DOH) Clean Water Branch has developed a newly upgraded website that gives the public access to up-to-date information — integrated with aerial photos from Google maps — to check on the status of the water quality of beaches that may have a surge in bacteria levels or are being impacted by sewage spills. This website is part of a revised statewide beach monitoring and notification system.

The new features and functions of the website, developed in part from a grant from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), were based on feedback from those within the health department as well as external stakeholders. The website is part of an integrated notification system that includes warning signs posted at selected beaches throughout the state.

This is the link to the new website…

AWWA/HWEA Pacific Water Conference

November 5, 2017

(November ) The American Water Works Association Hawai‘i Section and the Hawai‘i Water Environment Association are proud to announce the fifth annual joint conference now known as the Pacific Water Conference at the Hawai‘i Convention Center from February 6 – 8, 2018. Our joint conference committee is hard at work to bring you an exciting, fun, and educational conference.

The Pre-Conference Workshop kicks things off on Tuesday, February 6. The Conference officially opens on Wednesday, February 7 and lasts through Thursday, February 8. Join us at the Convention Center Kamehameha Exhibit Hall I to cheer on this year’s operator competitions featuring HWEA’s Operations Challenge and AWWA’s Pipe Tapping and Top Ops events. Remember to check out the exhibitors showcasing the newest and latest products in the industry. With five technical session tracks to choose from, there’s sure to be one that piques your interest. The conference golf tournament will be held on Friday, February 9 at the Kapolei Golf Course, and the community service event will take place on Saturday, February 10.

Here is the link to register…

Restoring Water Rights in Hawaii

September 29, 2017

Sept: Earthjustice attorneys Isaac Moriwake and Kapua Sproat discuss their decade-long fight to restore freshwater, taken by corporate water users, to the streams in which it rightfully belongs. The cases, which pit large companies against local residents, are often described as David and Goliath struggles and several of Earthjustice’s victories have been precedent-setting.

here is the link to their podcast…

Warming may lead to freshwater stress on many islands around the world

July 16, 2017

(Kobayashi comment: This article in Nature is about a year old, but is especially key for freshwater planning for islands in the South Pacific and elsewhere.)

Scott and Lindsey: May 2016

The millions of people—not to mention other animals and plants—living on islands already face unique challenges due to global warming. As seas rise and temperatures climb, islanders may have fewer choices for relocating people, infrastructure, or agriculture than larger countries do. Among the most serious public health and ecological threats facing islands may be freshwater stress. Nearly three-quarters of the islands examined in a recent study were projected to experience much drier conditions by 2050, with the situation worsening by 2090.

The bubble map at top right shows projected changes in freshwater stress by 2090 for 80 island groups around the world. Brown indicates increased freshwater stress, and green indicates decreased stress. The larger the dot, the larger the current population.

The bottom map shows small island groups that may be especially vulnerable by the end of the century due to a combination of drying and expected population growth. (Only the 22 island groups that had their own entry in the World Bank’s nation-specific population database were included in the second analysis.) The size of the dots on this map was determined by multiplying the projected change in freshwater stress in 2090 by the estimated population growth by 2050 (the farthest time horizon available for these islands).

Kris Karnauskas, the lead scientist on the research, explains that when he and his colleagues considered future rainfall changes alone, the models predicted that roughly 50% of small islands would get drier in a warming climate. But when it comes to freshwater stress, rainfall is only half the story. The other half is evaporation, and estimating evaporation from the land surfaces of small islands is something most global climate models—called GCMs, for short—don’t do.

The rest of the article may be purchased from Nature Magazine.

Rare East Honolulu freshwater spring protected by community

July 16, 2017

July 2017. HONOLULU (AP) – One of the few remaining freshwater springs in East Honolulu will be protected for life after multiple groups came together to purchase it.

County and state officials and East Honolulu community members celebrated on Thursday the $2.6 million public purchase of Kanewai Spring.

The purchase permanently protects a key source of freshwater for Maunalua Bay and opens up the lava tube-fed pool to conservation and education.

The rest of the article is here…

Hawaii and the Ghost of Climate Change Future

June 3, 2017

June 2017; The Atlantic Magazine, Adrienne Lafrance

The water is everywhere.

For the second time in a month, Hawaii’s coastlines have been swamped by epic tides. The phenomenon, known as a king tide, is actually a convergence of a few different factors: high lunar tides, rising sea levels associated with last year’s strong El Niño and climate change, swirling pockets of ocean eddies, and a robust south swell—that is, big waves rolling onto south-facing shores.

King tides happen routinely in the Hawaiian Islands—a few times a year, usually—but this year’s batch have been particularly extreme. Data from federal tide stations around Hawaii show that water levels have been up to six inches above predicted tidal heights since early last year. In April, levels peaked at more than nine inches above predicted tides and broke the record high for any water level around Hawaii since 1905. Scientists say the record is likely to be broken again in 2017.

Several Honolulu roadways have been submerged. Beaches have been washed out. Beachfront hotels have canceled shorefront entertainment and readied generators. Property owners living near the coasts were told to move electronics and other valuables up to the second floor of their houses and park their cars elsewhere. People photographed fish swimming down the streets. And all around the islands, small mountains of sand have been deposited in parking lots and other strange places—spots the waves should never reach.

For the people of Hawaii, alarm bells are ringing. King tides like this aren’t just a historic anomaly; they’re a sign of what’s to come. “Within a few decades this will be the new normal,” said Chip Fletcher, associate dean of the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology at the University of Hawaiʻi, in a university statement. “Hawaii should consider this a practice run, and reevaluate policies and development practices accordingly.”

“It’s a risk big enough to get the attention of officials who usually watch things like hurricanes and tsunamis,” said the local TV reporter Gina Mangieri, who reported for KHON that emergency-management officials had called for “all-hands-on-deck coordination” across state, county, and federal agencies to protect critical infrastructure and the public.

Scientists believe Hawaii could experience a sea-level increase of three feet by the year 2100, which is in line with global predictions of sea-level change and which would substantially reshape life on the Islands. That’s part of why scientists are enlisting volunteers to help photograph and describe incremental high tides across Hawaii.

“First-person experiences that are place-based and familiar reinforce that climate changes impacts are local in nature and not a distant phenomenon,” the university’s King Tides Project website says. More than 60 volunteers have submitted more than 900 photos so far.

To see the rest of this fine article see…

Bill to ban cesspools statewide awaits Governor’s signature

May 20, 2017

May 2017: HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) –

A measure heading to the governor’s desk would ban Hawaii’s nearly 90,000 cesspools by the year 2050, a move that some say would slow progress in bolstering the affordable housing inventory.

The bill comes a year after Gov. David Ige banned newly-constructed cesspools in the state.

“Cesspools, on average, release 55 million gallons of untreated sewage a day into streams, oceans and nearby waterways,” said Marti Townsend, director of Sierra Club of Hawaii. “That’s an extreme amount of untreated raw sewage that people end up swimming in, fishing from and maybe even drinking.”

Health officials say untreated sewage can be linked to skin infections and illnesses like Leptospirosis and Hepatitis A.

“Public health and safety is on the line,” said state Rep. Chris Lee. “We want clean waters, we want clean beaches, and this is a step in that direction.”

The state is offering a $10,000 tax credit to homeowners who convert to septic tanks, aerobic systems, or sewer lines.

See the rest of the story…

Water out of thin air? It can be done…

April 16, 2017

April: By J.D. Capelouto, Reuters

LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – People living in arid, drought-ridden areas may soon be able to get water straight from a source that’s all around them — the air, American researchers said Thursday.

Scientists have developed a box that can convert low-humidity air into water, producing several liters every 12 hours, they wrote in the journal Science.

“It takes water from the air and it captures it,” said Evelyn Wang, a mechanical engineer at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and co-author of the paper.

The technology could be “really great for remote areas where there’s really limited infrastructure”, she said.

The system, which is currently in the prototype phase, uses a material that resembles powdery sand to trap air in its tiny pores. When heated by the sun or another source, water molecules in the trapped air are released and condensed — essentially “pulling” the water out of the air, the scientists said.

A recent test on a roof at MIT confirmed that the system can produce about a glass of water every hour in 20 to 30 percent humidity.

Companies like Water-Gen and EcoloBlue already produce atmospheric water-generation units that create water from air. What is special about this new prototype, though, is that it can cultivate water in low-humidity environments using no energy, Wang said.

“It doesn’t have to be this complicated system that requires some kind refrigeration cycle,” she said in an interview with the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

An estimated one third of the world’s population lives in areas with low relative humidity, the scientists said. Areas going through droughts often experience dry air, but Wang said the new product could help them still get access to water.

“Now we can get to regions that really are pretty dry, arid regions,” she said. “We can provide them with a device, and they can use it pretty simply.”

Yaghi, a chemistry professor at University of California, Berkeley, envisions a future where the water is produced off-grid for individual homes and possibly farms using the device.

“This application extends beyond drinking water and household purposes, off grid. It opens the way for use of (the technology) to water large regions as in agriculture.”

In the next few years, Wang said, the developers hope to find a way to reproduce the devices on a large scale and eventually create a formal product. The resulting device, she believes, will be relatively affordable and accessible.

(Reporting by J.D. Capelouto; editing by Alex Whiting.; Please credit the Thomson Reuters Foundation, the charitable arm of Thomson Reuters, that covers humanitarian news, climate change, resilience, women’s rights, trafficking and property rights. Visit news.trust.org/climate)

Maui residents protest diversion of Maui water

February 27, 2017

Feb 2017: WAILUKU, Hawaii (AP) – Maui residents are calling on Hawaii land owner Alexander & Baldwin to disclose the impacts of the company’s proposed 30-year lease for water from island streams.

The Maui News reports that the company’s subsidiary, Hawaiian Commercial & Sugar Co., is seeking 115 million gallons of water per day for future diversified agriculture on about 30,000 acres of old sugar fields. The sugar plantation ceased its operations in December.

See the rest of the article here…

The technology opens the door for what co-author Omar Yaghi called “personalized water”.