Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 5, 1 May 2001 — When it rains, it pours [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

When it rains, it pours

Construction begins in September on a rainwater catchment system to provide water for KIRC's planting efforts around the rim and down inside the Lua Makika crater, at the island's summit. Close to one acre of land will be used as a catchment basin or "harvest apron." Water eollected there will be stored in three storage tanks at two different loea-

tions near the crater. Design plans are being finalized for KIRC review. Cultural concerns and the visual impact of the system were taken into consideration in deciding its appearance and location. The apron and two tanks will be located slightly southeast of the longstanding seeder shed, a well known rest stop for people hiking across the island or preparing to go up to Pu'u Moa'ula. Although annual rainfall in the summit area is approximately 24 inches a year, early last November over 10 inches fell in a 72-hour period. The large capacity of the storage tanks (100 to 150

thousand gallons) could take full advantage of similar downpours.

KIRC Commissioners Jeffrey Chang, Noa Emmetf Aluli, M.D., Dr. Isabella Aiona Abbott, OHA Trustee Colette Machado and Burt Sakata. Not pictured are Gilbert Coloma-Agaran and Robert Lu'uwai. kirc photo by Dovid uirich.