Thursday, March 28, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Friday, May 31, 2013
More Flooding in Kakaako's Future
By John Bond @ 9:29 PM :: 8068 Views :: Environment, Development, Hawaii History

by John Bond

"Water main break hits Kakaako" - A regular news story- but why do these breaks continue to happen?

Few know that Honolulu, called Kou in ancient times, was a Karst village.  Karst- is ancient limestone coral reef, and makes up a great deal of the south Oahu shoreline. It is full of underground springs, caves and water channels.

I'olani Palace, made of Karst limestone, has on its grounds the original Karst cave burial site for Hawaiian royalty.  Kawaiaha'o Church is also made entirely of large Karst blocks. The rough coral is plainly visible. Kawaiaha'o is named after the ancient Karst spring there.

Large sections of what is today Honolulu was once flooded ponds fed by Karst springs which connected with mauka lava tubes carrying water.Karst makes for an excellent water piping system- until it gets broken- and then it floods.

Kakaako is largely Karst fill - broken up coral chunks with sand.Every time it rains the water washes through the Karst, hits the Karst chunks and sand, and looses up fill around the water and sewer pipes-and they break especially as they age and get corroded. Water is a very powerful force of nature!

Rising sea level would push the fresh water lens even higher, the land will subside, year after year, causing more and more flooding and pipes breaking, year after year.  The Kakaako area will become a swamp.

Originally Kakaako was Hawaiian fish ponds. Land developers will try and concrete everything over there, but they cannot escape what is going to continue to happen year after year in Kakaako.

Right now there is a race to see how fast all the future swamp land of Kakaako can be quickly sold and developed before the mainland and foreign real estate investors find out they will be stuck with enormous future expenses as the Karst gets shattered, the land subsides, and the water rises.

Greed and poor planning takes precedence over everything in Hawaii.  Like the Ala Wai canal, it is just another big natural disaster in the making as the development of Kakaako gets underway.

---30---

PDF: Honolulu's Little Known Karst History

KHON: Water main break closes part of Keawe Street in Kakaako

KITV: Another water main break in front of old CompUSA

SA: Crews fix Kakaako water main break

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

808 Silent Majority

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federalist Society

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Homeschool Association

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Smokers Alliance

Hawaii State Data Lab

Hawaii Together

HIEC.Coop

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Moms for Liberty

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

Investigative Project on Terrorism

July 4 in Hawaii

Kakaako Cares

Keep Hawaii's Heroes

Land and Power in Hawaii

Legislative Committee Analysis Tool

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

Malama Pregnancy Center of Maui

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Military Home Educators' Network Oahu

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Christian Foundation Hawaii

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

No GMO Means No Aloha

Not Dead Yet, Hawaii

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Oahu Alternative Transport

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

OurFutureHawaii.com

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

PEACE Hawaii

People vs Machine

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

P.U.E.O.

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

ReRoute the Rail

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

Robotics Organizing Committee

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Sink the Jones Act

Statehood for Guam

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

UCC Truths

US Tax Foundation Hawaii Info

VAREP Honolulu

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii

Yes2TMT