What are they pumping into the Ala Wai Canal? The Ala Wai Canal is located on the island of Oahu in Hawaii in the bustling tourist haven of Waikiki. If you have driven down the adjacent road (Ala Wai Blvd) you have seen several large blue machines with tubing leading from man-hole covers into the Ala Wai Canal. Most of the time these blue machines are pumping liquid out into the murky canal. What are they dumping?

They’re dumping waste sewage! Over 300,000 gallons of waste sewage need to be pumped out of the sewer systems and into the canal in order to keep sewage from backing up into the homes of thousands of homeowners. Unfortunately that water travels right into the ocean at the mouth of the canal. This location is also the location of a few surf breaks, Rock Piles is one of them, on the South Shore of Oahu.

Yuk!

We’re not sure why this is the best solution but wish there was a different one. If you are unfortunate enough to live near one of these pumps you have heard them running day and night and pouring the foul smelling liquid into the Ala Wai. As of Monday night we know of two of the paddling teams located on the Ala Wai have canceled practice and we don’t expect any of them to start practice until several days after the pumping has stopped.

The Ala Wai Canal doesn’t have a very strong flow out to the ocean but there is a small one. This point means that we expect it to take a few days to clear all of nasty sewage out and far enough off shore to not dirty the water we try and play in. Steer clear of the Ala Wai Canal if you can, hundreds of thousands of gallons of nasty sewage are being dumped into the water.

• Pumping into Ala Wai has Stopped
• Millions of Gallons of Sewage being Pumped into the Ala Wai
• Beaches Closed on the South Shore of Oahu

               
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