 The Hanalei River, located on Kauai’s north shore, is the smallest of America’s Heritage Rivers. Sixteen total miles in length, nearly half those miles are vertical. The greater Hanalei Bay watershed extends from the top of Mount Wai‘ale‘ale (5,148 ft) to the coral reefs off Pu‘u Po‘a and Makahoa Points. Hanalei Bay watershed is 23.7 sq. miles and includes the ahupua’a of Hanalei, Waipa, Wai‘oli and Waikoko. The Hanalei River is approximately 16.2 miles long. Its headwaters receive intermittent but extremely heavy rainfall (450 inches/yr.).
The Hanalei Watershed Hui is a consensus based non-profit organization implementing a Watershed Action Plan developed by the people of the watershed. With financial support from the USDA Forest Service, the Hui established community partnerships and government collaborations to assess the resources of the Hanalei Bay watershed.
The organization's foundation rests on the traditional Polynesian island form of local community organization with its clear stewardship value system: to protect the natural resources within their “ahupua'a” (watershed-like land areas) so that the natural resources within will nourish them continuously.
CAPTION: 'o'opu fishing: local fisherfolk taking advantage of the dirty water after a heavy rain, the native goby, the 'o'opu" a local favorite, "runs" the river during the higher, muddy water; CREDIT: Makaala Kaaumoana, Executive Director, Hanalei Watershed Hui
Responding to community questions and concerns about the water quality of the Hanalei River and Bay, (“is it fishable and swimmable?”) and working out of a two-room building on stilts on Hanalei Family Community Center (Hale Halawai Ohana ‘o Hanalei) property, a community elected director, team of four staff and several committed volunteers has written and carried out successful proposals to conduct:
- The Hui provides public awareness and outreach through community forums that are videotaped for later play on the community access TV station, which everyone watches on Kaua’i!
- Hanalei volunteers conducted water quality monitoring that demonstrated there was indeed a water quality/public health issue despite the "pristine" reputation of the area
- Hanalei is conducting an inventory and mapping of invasive species and coordinating research to identify the best techniques for removing hau bush presently covering the riverbanks, and to establish native plants in its place
- Hanalei is producing sediment load quantification via a multi-agency, state/federal watershed initiative to estimate sediment loading from the Hanalei into Hanalei Bay (includes EPA, Forest Service, USGS, NRCS, NOAA, FWS, State of Hawaii, and others).
- Hanalei was awarded one of EPA’s highly competitive “Targeted Watershed” grants in 2003 to cover partnership work by Federal, State, university, and local education and outreach organizations.
- Hanalei conducts coral health monitoring in two very different coral reefs in Hanalei Bay along with their related fish, algae, and benthic communities; this work is being conducted with assistance from HI DLNR's Greta Aeby, NOAA/NOS's Alan Friedlander, Univ. of HI, and USGS, building on monitoring conducted previously by others, to create one of the longest time-series of coral ecosystem conditions.
- The Hanalei Watershed Hui is currently embarking on planning for the implementation phase of a just completed Total Maximum Daily Load study to address sediment and bacteria pollution.
CAPTION: taro lo'i; Hanalei valley produces 73% of Hawaii's taro, a staple complex carbohydrate, the lo'i is a shallow pond, like a rice paddy;
CREDIT: Makaala Kaaumoana, Executive Director, Hanalei Watershed Hui
The Hanalei Watershed Hui welcomes your interest and sends you Aloha from Hanalei.
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