Publications

Suspended sediment and nutrient samples were collected during wet-weather conditions at three sites on two ephemeral streams in the vicinity of Hilo, Hawaii during March 2004 to March 2006. Two sites were sampled on Waiakea Stream at 80- and 860-foot altitudes during March 2004 to August 2005. One site was sampled on Alenaio Stream at 10-foot altitude during November 2005 to March 2006...

To a casual observer, tropical Pacific islands seem idyllic. Closer scrutiny reveals that their generally small size makes them particularly vulnerable to economic and environmental stresses imposed by rapidly growing populations, increasing economic development, and global climate change. On these islands, freshwater is one of the most precious resources. Ground water is the main source...

Most of the public water supply in Maui, Hawai'i, is from a freshwater lens in the Wailuku area of the island. Because of population growth, ground-water withdrawals from wells in this area increased from less than 10 Mgal/d during 1970 to about 23 Mgal/d during 2006. In response to increased withdrawals from the freshwater lens in the Wailuku area, water levels declined, the transition...

Hawai`i has experienced numerous destructive tsunamis and the potential for future events threatens the safety and economic well being of its coastal communities. Although tsunami-evacuation zones have been delineated, what is in these areas and how communities have chosen to develop within them has not been documented. A community-level vulnerability assessment using geographic...

To address the concerns about the potential for contamination of drinking-water wells in the Tafuna-Leone Plain, Tutuila, American Samoa, a numerical ground-water flow model was developed and used to delineate areas contributing recharge to the wells (ACRWs). Surveys and analyses were conducted to obtain or compile certain essential hydrogeologic information needed for the model, such as...

Concern surrounding declines in ground-water levels and an increase in the chloride concentration of water pumped from wells in the Iao aquifer system on the Island of Maui has prompted an investigation into the long-term sustainability of current (2006) and future ground-water withdrawals. As part of this investigation, a water budget for central and west Maui was calculated from which...

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in cooperation with the County of Maui Department of Public Works and Environmental Management, has proposed to construct 2.75 acres of shallow ponds and mudflats near the mouth of Kaunakakai Stream, Moloka`i, Hawai`i to restore habitat for the endangered native Hawaiian Stilt. Kaunakakai Stream is ephemeral upstream from the habitat-restoration site...

Storm runoff water-quality samples were collected as part of the State of Hawaii Department of Transportation Stormwater Monitoring Program. This program is designed to assess the effects of highway runoff and urban runoff on Halawa Stream. For this program, rainfall data were collected at two stations, continuous streamflow data at three stations, and water-quality data at five stations...

For nearly a century, the Waiahole Ditch System has diverted an average of approximately 27 million gallons per day of water from the wet, northeastern part of windward O`ahu, Hawai`i, to the dry, central part of the island to meet irrigation needs. The system intercepts large amounts of dike-impounded ground water at high altitudes (above approximately 700 to 800 ft) that previously...

Ten cultivation areas (8 windward, 2 leeward) were selected for a kalo water-use study, primarily on the basis of the diversity of environmental and agricultural conditions under which wetland kalo is grown and landowner permission and availability. Flow and water-temperature data were collected at the lo`i complex level and at the individual lo`i level. To ensure that flow and...

American Memorial Park, a unit of the National Park Service on the Island of Saipan, includes among its features a 27-acre estuarine system that has become a rarity within the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The estuarine system's mosaic of marshy areas interspersed with emergent wetlands and mixed wet forests provides critical habitat for various migratory and resident...

Water sampling and numerical modeling were used to estimate ground-water nutrient fluxes in the Kihei area of Maui, where growth of macroalgae (seaweed) on coral reefs raises ecologic concerns and accumulation on beaches has caused odor and removal problems. Fluxes and model results are highly approximate, first-order estimates because very few wells were sampled and there are few field...