Every October for the past decade, we have joined the rest of the nation in observing “Imagine A Day Without Water.” It is a time to reflect on what it would be like with even a day without fresh water and renew our kuleana to protecting our precious wai for our future.
For many around the globe, lack of access to clean, fresh water is a daily struggle. They don’t need to imagine what a day without water would be like. It is their reality.
On Oahu, we have all become much more aware that water is a precious resource and should not be squandered or taken for granted. The circumstances affecting our water supply today are the result of decisions made by those who came before us.
Constructing the Honolulu Board of Water Supply’s Halawa Shaft was a good decision. It took three years to build and was completed on Dec. 1, 1944. This shaft, one of four in the BWS system, has been instrumental in supplying water to 20% of metropolitan Honolulu, extending from Moanalua Valley to Hawaii Kai, including Waikiki. Unfortunately, it has been shut down for the past three years.
At about the same time, a 250 million-gallon underground fuel storage tank facility was being constructed at Red Hill just 100 feet above an aquifer, the island’s main source of water. That will not be remembered as a smart move.
During that period, people were enamored with the wonders of petroleum as a reliable energy source. They did not know fossil fuels and greenhouse gas emissions would heat up our planet and cause erratic weather conditions.
Today, we see the devastating effects of hurricanes destroying communities, two recently in the southern part of the U.S.
“Forever chemicals” was not in the vocabulary of those who came before us. They didn’t know per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) would start showing up in our water supply decades later.
We must now contend with the daunting consequences of the decisions and actions of the past.
We cannot change the past, but we must recognize that our decisions and actions today can shape the future. Today, we are without excuse. We know better. We have a wealth of knowledge to guide decisions to help ensure our aina will be safe and habitable for future generations.
Western and indigenous science can help us find pathways for stewardship and sustainability. We must tap into these resources and do what is right. We do future generations a grave disservice, and rob them of opportunities to enjoy the beauty of our island home and have access to an abundance of fresh water, if we do not learn from the past and malama our island.
At the Board of Water Supply, the motto in front of our building is: “Uwe ka lani, ola ka honua.” Translated, it simply means, when the heavens weep, the Earth lives.
We are dependent upon rain to replenish our fresh water resources. Rainfall recharges underground aquifers so that we can have access to fresh drinking water.
We must care for the resources that we have from nature.
The fate of future generations rests in our hands. They will have to live with the decisions we make. How do we want to be remembered? Will they praise our advocacy on their behalf or decry our apathy?
Each of us must make that decision. Ola I ka wai.
Ernie Lau is manager and chief engineer for the Honolulu Board of Water Supply.
