CRAMP Home

Long Term Monitoring

Rapid Assessment

Mapping

Watersheds

Hawai‘i

Maui

Kaho‘olawe

Lāna‘i

Moloka‘i

O‘ahu

Kaua‘i

Ni‘ihau

 

Publications



Search the CRAMP Website

Navigate the CRAMP Website

Bibliographic Search

Island: O‘ahu

Region: Ko‘olaupoko

Watershed Name:  Waiāhole

Geographic coordinates of watershed boundary:

  • Horizontal Coordinate 1: 619620.4396

  • Vertical Coordinate 1: 2376175.6635

  • Horizontal Coordinate 2: 619946.6818

  • Vertical Coordinate 2: 2375185.9266

Watershed Area in Acres:

2,526

Perennial Streams:

Waiāhole

Human Population:

2,527

Rainfall:

  • Lowest: 1500 mm (59.055 inches)

  • Highest: 4000 mm (157.480 inches)

-- View all O‘ahu watershed information -- (area in acres, perennial streams, stream length, rainfall, human population & geographic coordinates for watershed boundaries)

Physiography:

Deep channel and lagoon with fringing reefs, patch reefs and a shallow protective outer reef bisected by the deep channel. Maximum depth is 30 to 40 feet. Shallow areas consist of sand, crustose coralline algae and coral. Deep areas consist mainly of mud bottom.

Reef Structure, Habitat Classification:

Coral and sand carbonate reef flat exposed at lowest tides. High coral cover at shallow depths. Deep zone characterized by sediment with low coral cover colonized by slumping from upper reef zone. Northeast exposure, sheltered within Kāne‘ohe Bay. Historical impacts include long-term sewage release and freshwater flooding. Major coastal development along bay shores.

Oceanographic and Meteorological Conditions:

This part of the bay is fairly open to ocean swell compared to the central and south sectors. Water exchange is fairly good. North Kaneohe Bay receives a large amount of fresh water from Waiāhole - Waikāne streams.

Wave and Current Regime:

The north section of the bay receives more wave energy than the middle and south sections of the bay. Most of the energy is dissipated on the shallow eastern edge of the area, but small waves penetrate into the channel and patch reef area during storm surf. Prevailing current is seaward through the north channel, even during incoming tide (see Bathen 1968). The outflow is driven by waves that break and force water over the barrier reef into the lagoon.

Status (Degree of Legal Protection):

Open Access

Management Concerns:

The introduced algae, Kapaphycus alvarezii and Gracilaria salicornia have spread into this area. Threatened Green Sea Turtles are abundant in this area and many are suffering from fibropapilloma disease. Increasing recreational use is a problem and commercial operations are being regulated. Changes on the watershed due to increasing agriculture or development must be monitored due to the possibility of increased sediment load, nutrient load or toxic materials. At present the area is largely rural and undeveloped.

Noteworthy Biota or Ecological Conditions:

Large populations of the Green Sea Turtle exist in this area. Hammerhead sharks pup and breed in the bay. Complex patch reef, fringing reef, barrier reef system is unique in Hawaii.

Historical and Cultural Importance:

This is one of the last remaining “Hawaiian” places on Oahu, where people can still live a “traditional” life style in a rural setting. Taro culture and sustenance fishing are still major activities here.

Scientific Importance and Research Potential:

This region has been a very productive area for scientific research due to the close proximity of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology at Coconut Island. The watersheds and the bay are well-defined physiographic units that are of a small enough scale to allow studies of material and energy flow studies and modeling. Numerous studies have used this to advantage to study linkages between land, bay and open ocean.

References

Bathen, K.H. 1968. A descriptive study of the physical oceanography of Kāne‘ohe Bay, O‘ahu, Hawai‘i. University of Hawai‘i. Hawai‘i Institute of Marine Biology. Honolulu, Hawai‘i. Technical Report no. 14.

Bathen, K. H. 1974. Baseline description of the marine and shoreline environments existing in Kaneohe Bay between Waiahole and Waikane, Oahu, Hawaii Prepared for Environmental Communications, Inc. 65 pp.

Norton, Susan E 1977. A comparative study of fish and crustacean populations in altered and unaltered Hawaiian streams M.S. Thesis, Dept. of Zoology, Univ. of Hawaii pp. 90

 

Last Update: 04/21/2008

By: Lea Hollingsworth

Hawai‘i  Coral Reef Assessment & Monitoring Program

Hawai‘i  Institute of Marine Biology

P.O. Box 1346

Kāne‘ohe, HI 96744

808-236-7440 phone

808-236-7443 fax

email: jokiel@hawaii.edu