Up To Our Necks In Water During A Drought

It's a beautiful Sunday morning again on Maui. The sun is shining, the surf has subsided enough to again enjoy being in the ocean and people are flocking to the beaches to enjoy the break. At least those of us that don't need to spend the day cleaning up after the storm.Even the least hit areas have some clean-up involved. Just catching up on the normal chores is a challenge. With the power out for a half day yesterday at my house, many things were put off until today. The yard is full of debris that either originated in my yard or came from neighbors. Actually it's a good time to socialize or meet neighbors as you return belongings blown into your yard such as trash cans that traveled a block with the winds.

So after a week of incredible rainfall, I guess most of it ran into the sea because we apparently still have a drought. One friend I spoke with last night tells me that the property she lives on in Olinda was pretty well designed and managed to divert the water in a very efficient manner to avoid damage. She said that even with all the reain, the ground under her cottage was still dry and powdery.

It is unfortunate that when we have rainfall it tends to run down the mountain and into the ocean, rather then being absorbed and recharge the aquafier. As man tries to control nature and the environment while increasing development, it's usually nature that has the final say. Nature may not always be the winner, but it will give us all a quick slap and a wake-up call.

There were many people commenting about how this is the worst storm we have had in years. The way I see it is that its not that this storm was so much worse than others, but it took place at a time when Maui has been developed to the point where even an average storm could do plenty of damage.

To draw a comparison to the body, when we focus on individual parts of the body's health without regard to the body as a whole, we can often times do more damge than good. Maui has been developed with the focus on individual areas and most of the time without regard to Maui as a whole.

We are concerned with how development can affect the traffic, electric, water and just people in general, but Maui is an island. The island was formed over many thousands of years based on weather patterns that may have long periods between big storms It is not whether these storms will come, it's a matter of when.

Places like Kihei are the results of heavy run-off from many, many of these storms. When flying over the Kihei shoreline, it is possible to see the underwater siltation zones, such as the area surrounding the Maui Sunset.

The area around from Kula to Ulupalakua is very steep and while it rarely sees heavy rains, it is the most likely area to feel the full brunt of the heaviest Kona storms as evidenced by the last week. Driving through the area I noticed that much of the undisturbed pasture land was pretty much unaffected by the heavy rainfall and resulting run-off.

It seems that where development has taken place in the areas that were once pastures, the streams have been neglected and turned into small forests of Wattle trees and shrubs. Its this foliage that seems to be the debris that was uprooted and carried down to eventually hit the bridges, culverts and roads. As this debris blocked the culverts under the roads, water then diverted to run down the roads themselves.

In the case of the highway, the water and debris now found another new obstacle, the guardrails. These guardrails held up pretty well to the onslaught of storm driven debris and created a very nice retaining wall. With the newly created retaining wall, the road itself became the main stream and the debris-filled water then flowed to where the guardrails ended. This was either a road or an old-style cattle fence. The water then continued on downhill through the roads into subdivisions like Waiohuli or through pasture areas and on to either Kihei or any subdivions that laid in it's path.

On many occasions throughout the week, we saw streams flood and resede again, but a glance up on the slopes of Haleakala, when it could be seen that is, would bring the realization that there was a lot more water rushing down the slopes. It just hadn't reach the bottom yet. There really is a reason for those flash flood warnings.

I am sure there are many very capable people that work very hard to create and design Maui's development's, it just seems to me that there needs to be more attention to designing with Maui as a whole. I know that this ultimately means much more money up-front and would require an on going effort between public and private sectors to be sure Maui's streams are cleared, the roads are maintained and the natural terrain of Maui is kept in mind during the design stages, but what is the alternative? The money is either spent in the design or spent later to provide repairs to the areas that are ravaged by the resulting floods, mudslides and wind damages.

Ultimately we all pay to make the repairs after the fact, either in taxes or through increased insurance premiums. Many people not only have to help pay through their taxes or insurance premiums, but suffer damage that can not be recuped by government assistance or insurance.

The time to take note of the problems is while they are happening. There may be much to much going on for awhile to address the problems, but it is very important to try and keep a focus on them and strive to correct them during the stretches of good weather. I'm quite sure that in the days to come we will be faced with more days of heavy rainfall and wind. Will we act or just react?

In the meantime, despite that we were up to our necks in water over the last week, we do remain in a drought and water conservation measures are still needed.

Storm Ravaged Maui

It's been a wet and wild week here on Maui and the State of Hawaii for that matter. As I write this the rains are continuing. The island has been restored to power in most areas. The Wailea and Kihei area got their power back late today and the Maui electric crews continue to try and bring back power to the upcountry areas. Kula has many parts that are still without power.

A new section of the storm is rolling in with thunder and lightning on the horizon. there isn't much doubt that the restoration will continue in the days to come.

We hope and pray that everyone will make out alright and be safe. Our thoughts and prayers go out to those that have lost their homes.

When It Rains, It Pours.....

After all the lamenting about our lack of rain on Maui, we finally have rain. Unfortunately, it is not necessarily the kind we wanted.

Maui's been hit pretty hard by some heavy and even torrential rainfall over the last few days, some of which is coming down as I write this. The streams are swollen, the grounds are soaked and the wind is toppling utility poles and trees by the score.

The direction of the rain is from the south and south-west. Something we call Kona storms in Hawaii. The areas that see the least amount of rainfall are the hardest hit and generally the least prepared for it. Much of the developments and construction has been in areas that historically are run-off areas for when we have these large Kona storms.

Yesterday the Haleakala National Park was closed from the rain. The roads became nearly impassible as the streams flooded their culverts and became raging rivers across the roadways.

Further down in the Kula area, at the Waiohuli subdivision, houses were being flooded by the rapidly moving waters. One house was swept off it's foundation and into a gulch. The occupants had to be airlifted from their roofs.

Omaopio and Pulehu roads were closed from major water carrying debris and boulders across the roads. The trees in just the Kula areas, not normally subjected to this type of weather or wind direction, came down all over Kula and blocked road ways, the entrance to Kula Community center, fell on parked cars and took out numerous electric and telephone cables.

In Maalaea the rain, soft ground and strong winds managed to topple 7 major transmission poles that help carry the 69,000 volt power to various locations.

The damage is far and wide and this is just Maui. Oahu and other islands are no doubt reeling from the effects of the storm too.

It will be days before roads are cleared and power is restored. And we still have a conservation notice about water usage. Not because of a lack of it, but with no power the pumps can't fill the holding tanks and so we can still run short of water.

Now is a good time to mentally note all the areas that we need to work on when it comes to Maui's infrastructure and design. This is the time to remember and when things have settled then is the time to hear from all the Concerned Voices on Maui.
When the storm is over and life has settled down, let the powers that be hear from the Concerned Voices of our island and State until our voices like the rain begin to pour.

Rain Rain everywhere and not a drop to drink.

It's amazing how hard it can rain and even for a few days at a time and yet we are in a declared drought restriction. I was speaking to a friend Mr. Stephen Cabral Sr. yesterday in Haiku. He is the former manager of the EMI East Maui Irragation Water Shed System. He was pointing out that he can drive by many streams going towards Hana, which he can also name individually, and the streams will be flowing full speed to the ocean. Upon his return in a few hours, he finds the same streams only trickling along. His feeling is that the water shed is dying and not being maintained. That water is not controlled so as to keep it in the mountain to allow it to saturate and fill the aquifer. One of his pet peeves is the encroachment of the African Tulip trees. I know 30 years ago in Haiku there were very few of these trees growing around my home in Haiku. Today they spread out from Haiku to Hana. Their seeds carry wide and far. They have also become a popular tree to plant and can be found lining the streets in the upscale subdivisions on Haiku Hill. These trees are invasive and crowd out the more native plants. Between Micronia and some others he named, we are loosing the battle against these plants. The Australian Fern (Hapuu) was being grown on Alii Chang's former Nahiku land Alii Gardens, not owned by Olivia Harrison, George's widow. the Australian fern literally took over the Alii Gardens and continues to spread on it's own. Mr Cabral enlists his grandkids to help him rid his yard in Kailua from them, where he grows true Hawaiian Hapuu Ferns. One look at Haiku and it is apparent that the ornamental trees that do look nice, but can have devastating effects on the make up of the plants on Maui, have proliferated. It's nice for these estates to be all spiffed out with these plants, but they do tend to spread on their own and literally change the landscape of our forest. Stephen points out how he used to gather Maile for leis along Hana Highway and now has to go as high as 4000 feet into the mountain just to find Maile now. We live on an island in a closed environment. Everything that takes place and grows on Maui can have it's good or bad effect on the native flora and fauna. Please Maui take awareness, for even the Maui I grew up in over 30 years has changed so drastically that my grandkids won't see the things I saw. Stephen points out that in his 8 years since retiring from EMI the forest have grown into a variety of plants that weren't there 8 years ago. Malama the Aina! Please bring forth all your concerned voices so that with all the rain we do get we can have a forest and water shed that holds the water, because then and only then will we and our children find that full drink of water and not a regulated 10% cut back on our glass. One of my Concerned Voices.....

One Man's Music is another Man's Noise

Many years ago my eldest son brought home a pair of Coqui Tree Frogs. I didn't even know about them until one day I heard a barking type noise in the house and tracked it down to an aquarium my son had set up in the porch area. Why these made a barking sound rather than the usual two-tone call I'm not sure. Apparently he had bought them in a local pet shop called Alive and Kicking on Maui.

The Coqui frogs were cute little things, but sounded like a small dog. When I would go near the cage they quieted down and hid away in their cage.

Over the next month they managed to get out of their cage and be found again a number of times. Eventually one disappeared and we lost it. Maybe our cats found it.

The last Coqui frog did manage to escape once to the outside and after following the sound of the Coqui frog's bark and climbing up a ladder to the top of about a 15 foot banana tree in our yard, I finally found it.

Of course the Coqui frog quieted down when I got up close, but I did spot it nestled down in the crotch of the banana leaf and managed to recapture the elusive amphibian. The next escape was that Coqui Frog's last. Whether the cats got it or it managed to cover some ground during it's escape, I'm not sure, but in either case we never heard it again.

That was about fifteen years ago and since that time Maui and especially the big island of Hawaii have been over run with Coqui Frogs. While the big island of Hawaii has a nearly impossible task of eradicating the Coqui Frogs, Maui does still stand a chance.

Today's lead story in the Sunday Maui News is about a Maui Invasive Species Committee, MISC for short, project that is getting ready to attack the problem. The MISC project will involve pipes, tanks and pumps that are similar to those used in farming operations to deliver a 550 foot wide spray to deliver a biodegradable non-toxic citric acid at a rate of about 1000 gallons a week. Their plan is to add these systems to 10 different sites throughout the Maliko Gulch area to try and eradicate what is presently the largest concentration of the Coqui Frogs. Presently, there are about 14 sites identified throughout Maui with smaller populations of Coqui Frogs. Many sites will be hand eradicated through capturing them.

While eliminating these pests is very important to protecting the environment of an island community that should not be the home to these Coqui Frogs, we need to be careful of our methods we use. I realize that citric acid has been a much better alternative to the pesticides that they could be using and that the citric acid is biodegradable and in itself non-toxic, but what happens when we now take 10,000 gallons a week, 40,000 gallons a month and spray this solution in a limited area like Maliko Gulch?

Maliko is a valley that runs from Olinda/Makawao down to the ocean. The outfall of Maliko's stream runs into the sea and with the normal currents, this fresh water flow makes it's way across the beginning of our reef area, past our World Famous Hookipa and all along our outside reef which ends by Kahului and Kanaha Beach Park.

On days like today when we have heavy rains and large north shore ocean swells, the surf action mixes with the fresh water coming out of the many streams and particularly Maliko and the water literally runs brown from Maliko towards Kahului. This is a visual reminder of the interaction between freshwater run-off and our ocean.

I would question what the possible consequences are when large amounts of citric acid can wash into the stream with the rains and find it's way into our ocean and along our already faltering reef system. Maybe there is nothing to worry about? Maybe there is! I just wonder if this is being questioned or studied at all prior to moving ahead on a project like this?

I wouldn't want to stir up controversy where there is no reason. After all, with the SuperFerry coming to Maui next week and concerns over water conservation, the last thing Maui needs is another controversy.

In Puerto Rico they love the sound of the Coqui Frogs. It's music to their ears, but then again, Maui is not Puerto Rico and by all rights should be known for it's peace and quiet.

I guess what is one man's music is another man's noise.

That's one of my ConcernedVoices.

Beyond Organic and Sustainable Farming

Back in October, there was a great conference put on by Maui Aloha Aina Association at the Kumalani Farms in Olinda on Maui. It was a wonderful two days with speakers from the mainland like Jerry Brunetti, Gary Zimmer, Bob Shaffer and Sherrill Sellman. We were presented with so much information our cup runneth over.
Frank Pulaski III with MauiToday.tv did the filming and just recently uploaded about an 8 minute summary of the event. He has placed it on Mauitoday.tv and I embedded the video here on my blog. It's located in the right side bar if anyone would care to watch it.
The relationships that exist between a living soil and the plants that grow in it, is crucial to animal health. Not everyone believes people should be omnivores, but for those that are, this link is indeed an important one.
It is really amazing how a lot of people just view soil as dirt. It's so much more! In fact soil should be alive. The soil is made up of minerals, organic matter and most importantly the living organisms that feed on the organic matter and break down the minerals, allowing the plants to take them in.
For animals of any kind to benefit from the nutrients contained in the plants, the plants need to take them up from the soil. It is really an amazing process. It's too bad we tend to disrupt it by trying to poison what we consider pests, thereby killing the good, rather than strengthening the plants by improving their conditions.
I'm no expert on all of this. It just seems that it is time we really became intimately aware of the earth and it's soil around us. It's great to look at changes in the foods we eat and how we produce them, but we may need to do even more and look beyond just organic and see what is truly sustainable.