Ala Wai Canal
The Ala Wai Canal is an artificial water channel in Honolulu ( US state of Hawaii ) that serves as the northern border of the district Waikiki serves.
The canal was commissioned in 1921 by Lucius E. Pinkham , then governor of the Hawaii Territory , and completed in 1928. It was created for the purpose of draining the rice and swamp areas, so that a peninsula was created that is now Waikiki. This has developed into a popular tourist center after the Second World War.
The canal has its origin in the southeast on Kapahulu Avenue and flows into the Pacific Ocean after about three kilometers at the Yacht Club of Waikiki . The artificial banks are built up with high-quality condominiums and are densely populated. Over 90,000 people live in an area of just under two km², around 70% of them tourists.
The poor water quality is repeatedly criticized. This is because, as an artificial waterway, the canal has no natural organisms that would clean it up. Warning signs on the bank indicate that swimming or fishing is prohibited in the canal. In 2003, an unusually large and heavy specimen of a mantis shrimp was found in the water. Experts assume that urban sewage is responsible for this.
Illustrations
Web links
- Sophie Cocke: Ala Wai Canal: Hawaii's Biggest Mistake? Honolulu Civil Beat, Date: May 20, 2013 (English)
- Ala Wai Canal ( Memento of May 10, 2011 in the Internet Archive ), ASCE Heritage, short article on the history of the canal, September 1995 (English)
Coordinates: 21 ° 17 ′ 14 " N , 157 ° 49 ′ 52" W.