The North Shore is a very different place

By guest contributor Joni Shiraishi

The North Shore is a very different place than it was a few years back. The Haleiwa bypass road has brought with it a huge increase in North Shore visitors. Traffic lights have been added at the end of the bypass and by Pupukea Foodland. Where no lights were necessary in the fairly recent past, it is now difficult to cross the road during many hours of the day. Promotion of Laniakea's turtle population causes frequent traffic jams along Kam Highway. New toilet facilities at Sunset Beach have made that a major North Shore relief station for the passengers of an endless stream of tour busses. A little Ala Wai Canal has formed on the low land on the Mauka side of the parking lot. The movie industry is now fanatically promoting Hawaii where large corporate landowners are trying to unload vast acreage that was once zoned for agriculture. Worldwide promotions are bringing hordes of people to Hawaii's delicate ecology.

During last years flooding, the Ala Wai Canal had huge quantities of raw sewage dumped into it. The rains also caused countless sewage spills from overflowing cesspools throughout the island. This was not only repulsive, it created a very dangerous health hazard, islandwide. The effects on public health were not clear because they took many forms, as they do in third world countries where refuse, sewage and poor health are rampant.At a recent North Shore meeting in which representatives of Turtle Bay promoted their development plans to the public, they discussed their planned "wastewater management".

There are no sewage treatment facilities on the North Shore and inadequate cesspools are all that keeps the growing sewage in check. According to the Turtle Bay plans "wastewater" (sewage) is to be pumped uphill into reservoirs above the new developments. The "wastewater" will require electric pumps to keep the system operational. Most wastewater" systems use gravity to their advantage. Otherwise they are subject to the mechanical and electrical whims of the pumping system. Sunday's earthquake and subsequent power outage caused sewage to be spilled into Lake Wilson, Kailua and Sand Island facilities. Because they use gravity to their advantage they only spilled several hundred thousand gallons of sewage.

The Turtle Bay development plans will initially allow roughly half of the units to be designated condominiums. These residents will seek all the advantages of modern suburbia. They'll want nearby Costcos, Walmarts, McDonalds, 7-elevens, car dealerships, etc., etc. and they will dramatically change the face of what we once called "Country". Surfing was once the main focus of the North Shore. Now it appears to be Real Estate speculation. I guess there are no serious North Shore surfers running for public office, are there? At least if such candidates existed, there might still be a glimmer of hope for the North Shore's real value.

North Shore surfing spots are unique and fragile ecosystems in which value is inversely proportionate to population. Crowds curtail movements that are necessary for surfing's all important positioning. They make already dangerous surfing conditions ridiculously dangerous. More clueless people mean many more problems. Promotions have become a major detriment to the sport and art of surfing on the North Shore. Surfing is what has made this location desireable and unique. Ruin that and this becomes just another overcrowded Honolulu suburb.