Ka Wai Ola: The Living Water
The Hawaiian word for water is wai. Waiwai (water twice) translates to wealth, thus reflecting water’s significance within Hawaiian culture In fact, in Old Hawaii, the only resource ali’inui (chieftains) restricted maka’ainana i (common people) from utilizing was wai. Old Hawaiian land divisions further signify water’s cultural importance; ahupua’a (land divisions) governed boundaries stretching from the highest points of mountains to the very outer edge of our islands’ reefs, allowing streams’ unimpeded flow from from mauka (mountain) to makai (sea), perpetuating the island water cycle for generations of island residents. That is not to say that Old Hawaii did not make use of the islands’ abundant freshwater sources and streams. In fact, ahupua’a communities established an extensive system of ‘auwai (ditch irrigation) across islands, allowing for wetland kalo cultivation. Each ‘auwai eventually reconnected with its original stream source, ensuring streams’ year-round abundance. Water use, however, faced stringent ali’i rules, with communities often only allowed time increments of water flow. The central tenet of water within Hawaiian land use allowed for 400 years of ecological harmony, balancing human growth and economic systems as well as the natural processes of our volcanic islands. Not only was the islands’ water cycle allowed to continue unimpeded, the ‘auwai system allowed endemic species to proliferate. As economic systems shifted with emerging Western dominance within the islands in the 1800s with sugarcane plantations, however, streams faced increasing blockages and diversions. This has in turn wrought havoc upon Hawaii’s ecological cycles.
While sugarcane has grown in Hawaii since Polynesians’ arrival 1500 years ago, the sugarcane industry would not rise to prominence until the Civil War in the late 1800s. A treaty eliminating tariffs on Hawaiian imports to the United States spurred Westerners to establish and monopolize sugar cane in Hawaii, with plantation acreage exploding from “15,000 in 1876 to 238,000 in 1941” (“Why Hawaii’s Sugar Plantations have Disappeared”). Extensive canal systems diverted water from ‘auwai and redirected it inland, supplying plantations with water while destructing kalo patches as well as destroying endemic species’ natural cycles. While all plantations have closed as of 2016, “an estimated 90 percent of Hawaii’s streams are still being diverted” (Kozacek). All of Hawaii’s endemic species are amphidromous, meaning their life cycles depend on an uninterrupted flow of water from manual to makai. Urban development and stream diversions have caused significant drops within our native populations, pushing several to extinction.
Fortunately, with the Hawaiian cultural renaissance of the 80s, a swelling civic push has attempted to redress decades of environmental and cultural harm. Stream restoration projects and lawsuits have met some success, altering the commodification of Hawaii’s water, as well as water use rights in general. For example, an Earthjustice complaint in 2017 resulted in “tens of millions of gallons of water each day” to be restored Kaui’s historic Waimea River (“Restore Stream Flow”). Other projects have not been as lucky, with corporations and foreign entities contesting water-use disputes.
