The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-02-15
had to be carried on horseback be-
tween Waikiki and Lahaina.
GREAT IRRIGATION WORKS

tween Waikiki and Lahaina
GREAT IRRIGATION WORKS
Maui has been the pioneer in build
ing bitches for irrigating cane fields,
bringing the waters from the noun
tain streams to the fertile valley
lands The big Island Hawaii has to
depend on natural rainfall, and Oahu
on pumps but Maui alone in less than
another year will be able TO dispense
with the cost of pumping machinery
as its natural supply viii be develop
ed the fullest limit.
Through the indomitable energy
and business foresight of the Hon. H.
P. Baldwin three new bitches will be
finished on Maui in 1904; namely the
Honokohau ditch from West Maui
mountain TO supply Pioneer PIanta-
ton with water and the big Koolau
and Hamakua bitches from the Ma
hiku region to furnish additional
water to central Maui.
The Koolau ditch is 10 miles long
from it's commencement at Waiohue to
!
derground tunnel work and 1-2 miles
of open bitches.
The tunnels are feet wide and
feet high and are constructed and
lined to carry a depth of feet of
water when flowing full which will
give a capacity on a grade of feet
fall per mile of So millions of gallons
in "a hours. The ditch portions are
made a little larger and the grades
are f1atter also, so that they will have
the same capacity as the tunnels.
One tunnel alone, No. a. between
Keanae and Honomanu is 2,71C feet
long and cuts off 1-2 miles of ditch
This has been the greatest obstacle to
progress encountered, yet so diligently
and systematically has the work been
prosecuted since the 1st of last April
that on the 1st of February only 294
feet were to be finished which beats
the speed record for hand drilling.
Many caves 20 to 80 feet in diameter
have been discovered in the under
ground exploration. These acted
as conduits for the liquid
Iavas of Haleakala in ancient times,
as their walls are of chilled rock like
the hardest steel and very often the
H..
One small underground stream was
found which carried petrified wood in
a clay and shale formation Only
rarely has more than 200 or 300 feet
of the hardest stone been found in one
body, and this as a rule near present
or ancient river beds.
1t is proposed to line about miles
of the tunnels where it is porous with
concrete which will be a heavy ex-
pense as the underground work is
very costly. This is done to prevent
the great loss from sipage through
the sides and bottom which would
otherwise result It is going to take
over 5000 barrels of cement for this
work, and tons upon tons of sand.
Over 100000 lbs. of giant powder have
been used and owing to the regula-
tons and vigilance of the manage
ment not one has been fatally hurt in
the tunnels. Two men have died from
falling off pals due to their own care
lessness. There is an emergency
hospital at headquarters for care of
the injured men and medical de-
partment under charge of DR.. McGet-
tigan of Hama; so that all injured
men are we'll taken care of.
At the terminus of the Koolau ditch
at Waikamoi, 1900 feet high, its
water will be partitioned between the
Fl. c. & S. Co. and the Haiku-Paia-
Kihei plantations. The latter are now
building connection called the Ha-
makua ditch to bring their pro rata
Of water to the higher levels of their
olanta tions.
NJ. NJ. O'shaughnessy. Mem. Am.
Soc. c. E., has been manager and en-
gineer, with J. Jorgensen for assistant. |
Mr.. Cooper, book-keeper; E. Rogers, |
tunnel luna, and Captain Johnson, |
ate of the U. S. A, in charge of trans
,ortation.
CThe foregoing is condensed from the
Maui News.)