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TOPICS: WATER RESOURCES

A “Bounty” to Remove Ghost Fishing Gear

by Josh McDanielHarry Lynch is a commercial fisherman and diver who lives on Oʻahu’s windward side. For over two decades, he’s been removing “ghost gear,” or discarded, lost, or abandoned fishing gear, that drifts into Hawaiian waters. Ghost gear continues ...

About the Center

"Smart Building" is the process of designing and constructing a structure while considering how it will interact with its inhabitants and its environment. Is it a nice place to work? Is it an efficient place to work? Does it take ...

Act Local, Act Global

by Lurline Wailana McGregorWhen the last of its four counties implemented laws to ban plastic bags from store checkouts in 2021, Hawaiʻi became the first in the nation with a full statewide ban. Since then, the City and County of ...

Adding Value to Island Waste

by Stacy KishDespite the best efforts to contain it, untreated waste from the 88,000 cesspools in Hawai‘i escapes the confines of the system, polluting coastlines and endangering marine life and coral ecosystems. When treated properly, much of the wastewater is ...

April 15, 2014 Pauley Seminar

APRIL 15, 2014 PAULEY SEMINAR Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore Vice President Gore, known for his visionary leadership and decades of work on reducing the harmful impacts of climate change. He will be sharing his insights on renewable energy, ...

Assessing the vulnerability of coastal wastewater infrastructure to climate change

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Daniele Spirandelli Graduate Fellow: Theresa Dean Clean water is vital for stable economic growth, as well as human and environmental health. Water, wastewater services, and other critical infrastructures enable communities to prosper while protecting sensitive ...

Cesspools in Paradise

by Helen RaineWe take the humble toilet for granted, rarely stopping to think about where all that waste goes. But in Hawai‘i, the reality for thousands of residents is that the plumbing leads straight to a big hole in the ...

Collaborative investigation of hydraulic and geochemical connectivity between wastewater and land-use and the oceanic waters of Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Glenn Co-INVESTIGATORS: Henrietta Dulai, Aly El-Kadi, Craig Nelson, Celia Smith, Robert Whittier Graduate Fellow: Michael Mathioudakis The risk that sewage effluent released to the environment poses to human health and the environment is well documented, ...

Collaborative investigation of hydraulic and geochemical connectivity between wastewaters and other land-uses and the ocean waters of Waialua Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Glenn Co-INVESTIGATORS: Aly El-Kadi, Henrietta Dulai, Celia Smith, Robert Whittier Graduate Fellows: Jordan Mason, Lucas Ellison The risk that sewage effluent released to the environment poses to human health and the environment is well documented, and ...

Collaborative study of groundwater transport paths and discharge loads of wastewaters and other land-uses that impact the Ewa coastal zones of West Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Glenn Co-INVESTIGATORS: Aly El-Kadi, Celia Smith, Marek Kirs, Niels Grobbe, Robert Whittier Graduate Fellows: John Cameron, Matthew Duff The risk that sewage effluent released to the environment poses to human health and the environment is well ...

Differentiating treated and untreated wastewater contamination in a tropical coastal community using microbial community genomics

 Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Nelson Co-INVESTIGATORS: Tracy Wiegner Graduate Fellow: Nicolas Vanderzyl Sewage contamination of coastal waters is a global phenomenon and is an important public health concern. In tropical areas where coral reefs thrive in relatively pristine waters, even trace ...

Economic activity, technological progress, and water resource utilization on Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Peter Fuleky Co-INVESTIGATOR: Kimberly Burnett Graduate Fellow: Sisi Zhang Water management authorities on Oʻahu are increasingly looking for improved methods to plan for future water demand. Our proposed project will provide an innovative way to ...

Enabling real-time predictive modeling of microbial pathogen risk along the Honolulu shoreline

 Research Projects 2018-2020 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Nelson Co-INVESTIGATORS: Anna Neuheimer, Grieg Steward, Margaret McManus Graduate Fellow: Jessica Bullington Microbial pathogen contamination of coastal ecosystems in Hawaiʻi is a significant threat to both human and ecological health and can have major impacts on ...

Getting to the Bottom of U.S. Ocean Plastic Pollution: a Conversation with Leading Experts

by Tess JoosseThe United States uses and discards the most plastic in the world, churning out a whopping 42 million metric tons each year. Despite this distinction, as recently as 2020 the full scale of the U.S.’s contribution to ocean ...

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management

Hawai'i's Sea Grant's Center for Smart Building and Community Design (SBCD) began this site with the goal of educating a wide range of community members on the benefits and uses of green infrastructure (GI). Community planners across the nation have ...

Green Infrastructure Glossary

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z A An aquifer is a formation, group of formations, or part ...

Green Infrastructure Practices for Hawaii

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home PRACTICE SUMMARY Permeable surfaces reduce runoff volumes and pollutant loads by allowing stormwater to infiltrate into the ground and through pavement, rather than flowing across it. These surfaces are particularly cost effective in flood-prone ...

Green Infrastructure Recommended Practices for Streamside Homes

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home The Streamside Guide: Recommendations for Hawaiʻi Owners of land along waterways have the important responsibility to maintain areas of river and stream frontage on their properties. This guidance was created to encourage the application ...

Green Infrastructure-Runoff + Reuse in the Hawaiian Context

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home As the development of Hawaiʻi's urban and residential areas has increased, the land's natural capacity to absorb rainwater and and filter pollutants has been diminished. The draining and filling of floodplains, including lowland wetlands ...

Green Infrastructure-Stormwater + Flooding in the Coastal Zone

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home Water has sculpted the Hawaiian islands into the beautiful and dramatic archipelago we see today. For millenia, water has fallen from the sky and followed the force of gravity from mountains to sea. This ...

Green Infrastructure-Streamside Recommendations

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home ...

Green Infrastructure-Tools + Resources

Green Infrastructure for Stormwater Management Home The Environmental Protection Agency site on Green Infrastructure. This site contains information to help you build and learn about national partnerships.The National Nonpoint Education for Municipal Officials (NEMO) Network is a collection of outreach ...

Hawai‘i Cesspool Hazard Assessment & Prioritization Tool

Hawai‘i Cesspool Prioritization Tool  The Hawai‘i Cesspool Prioritization Tool (HCPT) is a map-based tool that displays the prioritization level for each of Hawai‘i's 83,000+ cesspools. Per Act 125 Session Laws of Hawai‘i (2017), all cesspool owners are required to upgrade, ...

How Clean is Clean?

by Lurline Wailana McGregorBefore the Clean Water Act of 1972 became law, most of the agricultural wastewater and sewage from the Kaʻanapali coast on Maui, Hawai‘i was treated to remove only solids before being piped out into the ocean. After ...

Identifying hot spots of sewage pollution in Hilo, Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Tracy Wiegner Co-INVESTIGATORS: Steven Colbert, Craig Nelson Graduate Fellows: Shayla Waiki, Joseph Nakoa With the majority of the world’s population living within coastal areas, sewage pollution is a growing global problem. In rural areas, like much of ...

Improving Water Quality in the Ala Wai Watershed — Updated

Improving Water Quality in the Ala Wai Watershed This webpage is a resource for community members, planners, and policy makers to learn about water quality issues the Ala Wai Watershed. The University of Hawai'i Sea Grant College Program is kicking ...

Ka Pili Kai Fall 2016

Center of Excellence: Coastal and Climate Science and Resilience Center of Excellence: Marine Science Education Center of Excellence: Smart Building and Community Design Center of Excellence: Sustainable Coastal Tourism Institute of Hawaiian Language Research and Translation To address the needs, ...

Ka Pili Kai Ho‘oilo 2018

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. Welcome to our inaugural issue of the new Ka Pili Kai! Embracing knowledge from generations past and present: For our dedicated readers who have been receiving and reading our quarterly ...

Ka Pili Kai Ho‘oilo 2022

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. On the Cover Magazine covers are meant to inspire the reader to pause and reflect on the transformative potential of an issue’s contents. Through what they bring into focus, they offer a scaffold ...

Ka Pili Kai Kau 2019

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. Ola I Ka Wai Water is Life The myriad issues surrounding water – water rights and law, water availability, changing climate and rainfall patterns, and understanding our aquifers in Hawai‘i ...

Ka Pili Kai Kau 2023

Click on the cover image to view the full issue. On the Cover Welcome to our latest issue, dedicated to the United Nations Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. Through this initiative, the world's attention is focused on the ...

Ka Pili Kai Spring 2016

Humpback Whale Vocal Communications Between Mothers and Calves Wastewater’s Influence on Coastal Groundwater Quality and the Health of Coral Reefs in Maunalua Bay, O‘ahu Attack of the Drones: Characterizing Groundwater Discharge on Maui Using the Latest Research Tools Simulating Sea-Level ...

Ka Pili Kai Summer 2016

Hawai‘i ’s Water Resources Submarine Groundwater Discharge Water Resources Research Center Highlight: Dr. Aly El-Kadi UH Water Resources Research Center and Sea Grant Partner on $20 M Water Sustainability Project Increasing Access to Safe Drinking Water on Hawai‘i Island The ...

Ka Pili Kai Winter 2016

50 Years of Putting Science to Work for Coastal Communities O‘ahu Maui Hawai‘i Island Kaua‘i Pacific Region 50 Years of Putting Science to Work for Coastal Communities In 1966 President Lyndon Johnson signed The National Sea Grant College and Program ...

Making #2 a #1 Priority

by Kate FurbyStuart Coleman loves potty humor. But unlike the rest of us, he has a work excuse. And while not all of his puns are suitable for print journalism, suffice it to say that he approaches his work on ...

Mapping the Freshwater of Hawaiʻi

In this episode, we learn how scientists use chemical signatures to track the flow of freshwater underground and into the ocean as part of the ‘Ike Wai project’s work to map and model the aquifer system of underground, stored freshwater ...

Oceans of Opportunity for Hawai‘i’s Future

by Cary DeringerHawai‘i, an ocean-bound state, is just beginning to discover the myriad ways the sea can counteract increasing energy demands, dwindling fresh water supplies, and worsening food shortages. To see for yourself, visit Keāhole Point on the west coast ...

Ola I Ka Wai Water is Life

by Lurline Wailana McGregorI ka wā kahiko (in ancient times), before western contact in Hawaiʻi, there was no such thing as private ownership of the land or water or any other natural resource that gave life to the people. Such ...

Ongoing Projects

Campus Spatial Survey and Integrated Planning Light Pollution in Hawaiʻi Delamping Initiative Forest City Military Community Energy Efficiency Monitoring Kuykendall Hall Water Resources Working Group ...

Podcast #1: Waterworks

Dr. Peter Fuleky and Sisi Zhang are conducting an innovative study to identify the relationship between economic conditions in different sectors (tourism, health, agriculture, etc.) and the state’s limited water resources. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #13: Waialua Wastewater

Jordan Mason and Lucas Ellison work with Dr. Craig Glenn using drones to explore possible pollution of Waialua Bay from local on-site sewage disposal systems leaking into groundwater that flows to the bay. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #3: Pathogen Investigation

Dr. Craig Nelson and Jessica Bullington tackle the issue of bacterial pathogens in the Ala Wai Canal, developing a model to determine the risks of infection along the canal and offshore. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #3: Urban understandings and changing coasts

Meet Dr. Daniele Spirandelli and Theresa Dean and delve into the vulnerability of Hawaiʻi's wastewater infrastructure to a changing climate. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #4: Is it freshwater or saltwater?

Meet Dr. Henrietta Dulai and Trista McKenzie and learn about their efforts to map submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) into Kāneʻohe Bay to measure the nutrient flow from groundwater compared with streams. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #5: The two-to-three-day rule

Meet Dr. Craig Nelson and Krissy Remple and hear about their attempts to develop a new rapid, cost-effective tool to determine water quality where groundwater contamination might occur. Read more about their project here ...

Podcast #7: Hawaiian water

Meet Dr. Michael Roberts and Nathan DeMaagd and discover the intricacies of the economics of shifting water demands in the face of climate change. Read more about their project here ...

Predicting Hawaiʻi water demand under climate change

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Michael Roberts Graduate Fellow: Nathan DeMaagd How will climate change affect supply and demand for water? The answer to this question is complex, uncertain and depends critically on location and context. On the supply side, ...

Rainwater Catchment Project

What is Rainwater Catchment? Rainwater catchment is the capture of rainwater, most commonly in barrels or tanks, for household, landscape or commercial use. With proper design, maintenance and water treatment, a rainwater catchment system can provide water that is free ...

Rapid Response: Application of a qPCR-based test for Enterococci as a rapid beach management tool in Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Marek Kirs Graduate Fellow: Eduardo Guimares Climate change is projected to increase the risk of loss for people, assets, economies and ecosystems as extreme weather events, such as tropical storms and hurricanes, are projected to increase ...

Renewing Community with Stacy Sproat-Beck

by Lurline Wailana McGregorStacy Sproat-Beck was raised in Kalihiwai, a small village between Kilauea and Hanalei on the North Shore of Kauaʻi. “It was an idyllic childhood of hukilau, farming, roaming the mountains, and swimming in the stream in what ...

Research and education to support development of open-water restorative and production aquaculture in Hilo Bay

 Research Projects 2022-2024 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Maria Haws Co-INVESTIGATOR: Karla J. McDermid Smith Sea Grant Graduate Fellow: Christian Colo Research Track: Aquaculture The Hilo Bay Research and Training Farm is one of the few open-water, near-shore examples of mariculture in Hawaiʻi ...

Restoring Water Quality and Bringing Back Coral Reef Ecosystems: Lessons from Kāneʻohe Bay

by Abbey SeitzOver the past century, wastewater, stormwater, and other pollutants from land and development have damaged our islands’ coastal ecosystems and nearshore waters. This degradation is due in part to the islands’ increasing urbanization coinciding with global warming. Given ...

Rising Oceans, Disappearing Waters

by Josh McDanielThe 29 atolls and five low islands of the Republic of the Marshall Islands are distinctive in both their remoteness in the central-western Pacific and the seeming precariousness of the impossibly tiny slivers of land that make up ...

Sea Education Association: Studying Microplastics Aboard a Tall Ship

by Mallory HoffbeckUndergraduate student Noah van Aardenne stands lookout on the bow of the tall ship SSV Robert C. Seamans, holding on to the forestay as the ship tosses. He watches the horizon for rain clouds, marine animals, or rare ...

Sea Grant awards $8.1 million to strengthen community resilience nationwide

Sea Grant awards $8.1 million to strengthen community resilience nationwide   February 2, 2023 (Honolulu, HI) – To build on Sea Grant’s nationwide initiatives to improve coastal community resilience, NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program recently announced two complementary initiatives ...

Sewage in the seas

by Natasha VizcarraIt’s easy to get lost in the weeds finding out how to empty that portable 5-gallon toilet at the back of the boat. A simple Google search turns up a messy list of how-to videos, along with state ...

Source tracking coastal groundwater and runoff contamination with microbial genomics and dissolved organic fluorometry

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Craig Nelson Graduate Fellow: Kristina Remple Contamination of Hawaiian coastal waters by human activities is widespread and threatens coastal ecosystems and water quality. The high density of cesspools in Hawai‘i is potentially a significant source of ...

Tackling Cesspool Conversion from Long Island to the Hawaiian Islands

by Shannon KelleherAs Hawai‘i prepares to carry out a massive overhaul of its numerous cesspools by 2050, the state finds itself in a quandary — waste treatment is expensive, and homeowners’ pockets only run so deep. “This is one of ...

Testing Freshwater

We’re working with Hawai'i Sea Grant researchers and graduate students to examine the water quality of freshwater as it heads to the ocean. Freshwater travels in streams and underground, picking up pollution from our cesspools and agricultural run-off. We take ...

The Next Long Drought

by Natasha VizcarraIn the ʻŌlaʻa rainforest of Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, mist hangs in the air. Bright red blooms of ʻhiʻa trees mix in the canopy with ʻlapa trees that shimmer in the breeze. Underneath, towering fronds of the hāpu‘u ...

The role of surface and groundwater inputs in driving water quality in Kāneʻohe Bay, Oʻahu

 Research Projects 2016-2018 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Henrietta Dulai Co-INVESTIGATORS: Craig Glenn, Paul Lucey Graduate Fellow: Trista McKenzie Recent findings suggest that in the Indo-Pacific region total submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) is estimated to be 3 to 4 times greater than riverine freshwater ...

Tracking groundwater nutrients using novel tracers to inform coastal watershed management in South Kohala, Hawaiʻi

 Research Projects 2020-2022 PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR: Henrietta Dulai Co-INVESTIGATORS: Kim Falinksi Graduate Fellow: Casey McKenzie We propose to provide land use managers in the South Kohala Coastal Partnership information that identifies the path of the groundwater that emerges at the coast, and estimates ...

Transforming the Ala Wai

by Josh McDanielFew of the millions of tourists who flock to the sparkling beaches of Waikīkī are aware that the area was once a vast estuary fed by three streams, Makiki, Mānoa, and Pālolo, which plunged from the steep slopes ...

Translating Hawaiian Newspapers

In this episode, we’re learning about the translation of Hawaiian Language Newspapers from the 1800s and 1900s. We take a look at the University of Hawai‘i Institute for Hawaiian Language Research and Translation with Dr. Puakea Nogelmeier and his team, ...

Wanted: Wastewater Wins

by Robin Donovan“It’s not a million-dollar question; it’s a billion-dollar question,” says Sina Pruder of Hawaiʻi’s cesspool conversion challenge. As an engineering program manager for the State of Hawaiʻi Department of Health’s (DOH) wastewater branch, Pruder has faced a daunting ...

Xeriscaping Conserving Water One Garden at a Time

by Jackie DudockFrom Denver to Honolulu In 1981, inspired by a passion for water conservation and public education, a special task force of the Denver Water Department, Associated Landscape Contractors of Colorado, and Colorado State University kicked-off what became a ...
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