The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1900-06-23
MAXWELL On
OUR WELLS
ArteSian Water Supply
Assured.
NO FEAR OF THEM FAILING
Authoritative Article on the Subject
From the Distinguished
Scientist.

In the Planters Monthly for June Dr.
Maxwell, the distinguished Honolulu sci
enlist, has an article on our artesian wa
ter. He draws the conclusion that
though rainfall is the only source of sup
ply. that it will not fail. The article is
as follows:
I 1 take occasion to allude to your very
opportune editorial in the last CIay)
number Of your Journal upon the subject
of our water supply, and to venture what
appears to me to be an Immediately nee
essary explanation. In referring to the
unfortunate collapse of the American Su-
gar Company and the 6amalo Sugar
Company, you very properly state that
the only cause that has led to this re-
suit is the lack of water for irrigation
purposes. Molokai has an abundance of
arabic land but no streams. Wells were
sunk in different localities whiot gave
excellent fresh water, but later on
the water in these artes.an wells became
too brackish for cane cultivation, and
the work on the American plantation had
to be abandoned" 1t Is the following
larly wish to call attention, in which you
say lit would seem possible from this
that what has happened on Molokai may
/ in future decades be repeated on our oth-
I er islands, where arteslan wells now
! supply abundant fresh water"
! IL is necessary to emphatically distin-
guish between the water proposition as
/ II was apparent in the said locali1e on
Molokai, and the water supplies of other
districts upon the several Islands. To
/ persons who looked at the matter of the
rainfall upon Molokai, ard the under
| ground discharge of the water to the
sea, IL was apparent that the great body
of that discharge was going to the sea
on the side of the island facing the ISL
and of Maui, and, owing to geological
desiderata, nothing more than some va
grant water would be found slowly work
/ ing its way to the ocean under the lads
| of kaunakakai. Before the American
Sugar Company was Incorporated
strongly put before the promoters the
\ dire improbabinty of finding water.
\ little sweet water (vagrant water1 was
/ found, as predicted, but the finaI results
have only too clearly demonstrated the
/ soundess of the views that were based
/ on the geological aspects of the situa ,ion
and have shown that the rainfall is vast
! ing into the sea on me other side, where
| 1t was also stated that water should be
! found.
| Mr.. Editor, the situation on MoIokai
/ (there are other localit. es also where
water will notsrse found must not be con-
fused with other locations. The geologi-
I cal reasons are just as ample and def
mite for the presence of a relative album
dance of water in locations like EVA
! Lahaina, or Haiku as they were en-
phatic against the probability of water
in the said locality on Mo-okai. Also the
! reasons, on geological grounds, which in
dicated that water would be found in the
above mentioned, and in other localities,
are guaranty not only for the album
dance, but likewise for the constancy and
continuity of the supply. Where water
Is found today 1t will continue to be
| found, and in the same abundance con-
ditional upon the same rainfall that has
heretofore obtained. The rainfall is our
only source of fresh water. The rainfall
varies with the years. consequently the
volume of available water.
In a publication some four years ago,
} / put the average of the annual precipi-
tation upon Oahu at 6251a billion gallons
and the volume of dutiaJie water that
was wasting into the sea at 1853 billion
gallons. The results that have followed
the sinking Of more wells and the use OF
more water in irrigation, and especially
as these have been accentuated by the
past two relatively dry seasons-I say
these results indicate that the calcula.
tons made four years ago may turn out
to be more nearly correct than l at thai
, time ventured TO think. Before the rains
of last month came some of our wells
were getting shaky: since the rains Prof
Lyons has reported the response of the
wells to the new mountain supply.
Some wells. even upon the best water
sheds, are more sensitive than Others
which is due to the fact that given local.
ties. like Eva district. are resting upor
the back of the extreme conveyance o.
discharge, whilst other LOCALITIES, and tn,
wells within them are more upon tn,
outer edges of the watershed In an