A firsthand look at
the Ala Wai

There are a number of reasons why the Ala Wai Canal has been a recurring subject in this column over the years.

To begin with, the canal and this column share a similar name. And then, of course, there's the fact that it flows right by my office window, albeit 12 floors below.

Another reason I've written about it so often is that, like most of Hawaii's other recreational waterways, it too falls way short of its potential by being underutilized and undermaintained.

I understand that when it was originally dredged in the 1920s, it was nothing more than a flood control project to facilitate the future hotel and business development in Waikiki. In that respect, the canal has done its job admirably.

And it's obvious that for many residents in McCully and Moiliili, the canal has been very much like a moat that protects them from Waikiki's invading army of visitors.

Still, old photos from the 1950s show that the canal's banks were once lined with small boats, even though at that time their only pass to the sea was through Kewalo Basin. Only in the past decade has the Ala Wai been used with any frequency by outrigger canoe clubs for flat-water training.

Nevertheless, now that the canal has been dredged to something close to its original depth, it seems absurd that in a world-famous resort like Waikiki, a broad expanse of water over 2 miles long is so ignored.

Other cities have turned similar waterways into remarkable attractions for visitors and residents alike by providing on-the-water transportation and by-the-water dining and relaxation.

Yet here, where water taxis might offer an attractive alternative to buses for travel between Waikiki and Ala Moana Center or the Convention Center, there seems to be no such project on the horizon.

The only bill passing through the state legislature this year that relates to the Ala Wai is House Bill 1536 for an appropriation of about $210,000 for matching funds to complete a "trash-trap clean-up project."

Now don't misunderstand, the canal's tributaries from Manoa, Palolo and the streets of Waikiki deposit huge amounts of water-borne refuse for which the present trash-trap is woefully inadequate.

Located under the Ala Moana Bridge, it consists of a floating boom on the makai side of the first span from the Diamond Head seawall. And, as long as the flow of water and wind heads seaward, it tends to collect more trash than you might think.

But, when the Kona winds pick up, whatever opala had been captured earlier is then blown out of the trap to re-pollute the canal and the adjacent harbor.

Any funding that would improve the current trash-trap operation would be highly desirable from nearly any point of view.

So, let's hope this bill passes, but let's also hope to see more imagination on the part of Hawaii's "movers and shakers" when it comes to utilizing all of our waterway assets.

See the Columnists section for some past articles.

Ray Pendleton is a free-lance writer based in Honolulu. His column runs Saturdays in the Star-Bulletin. He can be reached by e-mail at raypendleton@mac.com.

A firsthand look at the Ala Wai

A firsthand look at
the Ala Wai