The Ala Wai Canal Needs More Than Floodwalls
This is an opinion essay by Amarjit Singh, a professor of civil, environmental and construction engineering at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, writing for Civil Beat's Ideas section.
Singh says the Ala Wai Canal is widely misunderstood. To most people it is a scenic waterway between Waikīkī and Mōʻiliʻili and McCully, but to engineers it is the final outlet for a steep, fast-moving watershed that drains Makiki, Mānoa and Pālolo toward one of Hawaiʻi's most valuable districts.
The canal was dug in the 1920s to drain wetlands and allow development, and it was never designed as a modern flood-control system. With the area transformed since then, he argues the city should plan an integrated watershed and canal modernization rather than relying on floodwalls alone.
Summary written by Readthrough from the original article. The full story, with photos and any updates, is at Civil Beat.
