The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1902-03-28
OBJECT To
THE WATERS
Beretania Street
People Make
Appeal.

Residents 90 the block bounded by
Beretania Alapai. Punchbowl and
King streets are up In arms. and have
called upon the Board OF Health To- pro-
tect them from the waters OF the
streets which are still lying undrained
on their premises The people are a
unit In their demand for relief and as
there are from three to i've acres still
covered wholly or partly by water,
there seems u be some grounds for
their claims FOR help.
There is an area lying at the rear Of
the residence of the Rev. oliver Il. EN-
erson, extending down nearly to Punch
bowl street and invading the rear of
the Pacific Theological Institute, and
bounded by the Rapid Transit tracks,
which is still filed with water that
stands from feet to inches deep. The
area covers the yard enclosures of
many Of the smaller Portuguese resi-
dences opposite the Schmidt estate,
and there is still visible an amount of
water which makes it impossible for
one to pass through the district without
having recourse to special board walks
which the residents have called into
requisition.
on the other side of the tracks there
is A little better condition, but there
II still some moisture in the rear of the
Castle Home, the Kawaiahao seminary
and the residence of John Walker All
these places were overlooked during
the rainstorm and all the people are
sgners of the petition. The conditions
are peculiar, and though easy of rem
edy from the one end, the eva distur-
Dances are incapable of correction with
out the construction of a storm sewer
which will carry the water which legit-
lmately belongs TO the Punchbowl
street district. The trouble at the Ala
pal street end OF the block comes pri
marily from the fact that when the
Rapid Transit tracks were constructed
there was provided no opening for the
release of the rain food waters which
come down Alapai street, continuously
down that thoroughfare. Where the
tracks start to enter the newly opened
extension of Hotel street, instead of
there being provided drain which
would carry the water from the street
on down towards King street, there was
dug ditch which aIiows all the accu
mutation of floods TO pour into the low
ground which is comprised in the area
mentioned.
The waters which gather on Punch
DDNl street are SlOppeu at btItldllld
by the fact that the block between
Beretanla and Hotel is higher than the
first named street, and the result Is the
formation Of a lake in the main thor
oughfare which is fed by all the tribu-
tary streets and lots. The storm sewer,
now there, is too sman to carry OF a
quarter of the water which fell during
the twenty minutes on Tuesday. The
result, on that day, was that when the
street had become filed the water
flowed down into the lots on the makai
side Of the street In many of the resi-
dences along the alley way half way
between PunchbOwl and Alapai, the
water rose to the second step of the en-
frances. At the feed store the water
was kept out of the warehouse only by
the men making entertainments which
acted as dams. In some of the smaller
places the water rose into stores and
the yards are still wet.
The force of the food caused the wa
ter TO rise in the residence lots on King
street until at Mr.. Walkers it was
necessary to use a boat 10 move about
the yard and to get to the house from
the street. The same condition was eX-
istent at the Castle Home and the
flood water stood for a long time. The
petition to the Board of Health is as
follows:
We, the undersigned residents of the
district bounded by Beretania, Punch
bowl, King and Alapal streets, especial
ly those whose yards abut on the new
extension of Young and Hotel streets
with the Rapid Transit Railroad, make
complaint that for years we have suf-
fered at the coming of the annual win
ter floods because of the great amount
of wash collected in our back yards.
The arrangement of the street flood
escapes is SO inadequate and faulty
that our yards are made the receptacle
of large part of the water that rushes
during a rainstOrm from the slopes of
Punchbowl down into Alapai and
Punchbowl streets,
our premises are dumping places for
the foul water, malarial mud, and offal
of quite a section of the city.
our homes are on low land, and we
have a right to expect most careful
attention to drainage. Added to our
natural disadvantages, the storm wa
ter of a large section Of the city is I'M
fairly DETECTED into our block (e. e.,
corner Alapai and Hotel street extern
sion), and there left to the slow proc
ess' Of evaporation and absorption. A
sharp downpour of moderate duration
floods our back yards with raging
= stagnant morass, serious menace
to the health of hundreds of people,
and a cause Of destruction of much
valuable property.
This condition of things is intoler-
able, and has grown worse since the
building of the Rapid Transit Rail-
road.
We would accordingly respectfully
petition the Board of Health to inves-
tigate so serious menace to the pub
lie health and see that proper and i'm
mediate steps are taken to avert the