The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1914-04-21
DISCOVERS SOURCE
! OF WATER SUPPLY.

mail Special to The Advertiser)
HILo, April no. --As a result Of the
present almost phenomenally dry season
Superintendent Of the fiiIo waterworks
vannatta expects to develop the Hilo
water supply to very treat extent, and
that without having recourse TO the
famous Piihonua springs belonging to
the Hawaiian Board, regarding the
priee OF which there has been much dis
cussion Tor several years past.
Whrle this may seem phfadoxical, Il
Is true, for the Piihonna watershed
dried up TO such. an, extent that IL was
made plain that what was previously
thought to be continuous stream. with
its entire supply coming from the up-
per slopes, was in reality series Of
springs which supplied the stream as
1t went along.
Inorder TO make the situation clear
IL win be necessary to give short de-
scription Of the Piihonua water reserve
ton, which provides Hilo with water.
IL consists of depression a short dis
lance above the fork Of the Kauinana
and the Piihonua roads and between
these two roads. The depression "a sur
rounded with ridges, which form the
watershed These are ali part Of the
water reservation, with the exception
Of the fnauka ridge, which belongs TO
the Hawaiian Board
Held at High Figure. 80
On this slope, on the hoard property.
Is the famous spring which the board
values at small fortune, and which
the county values at nothing at all.
The county has been using the water
from this spring for some time past,
owing toethe bad drought, but Il de-
murs Mt the size Of the bill charged for
the water used.
At the mauka edge Of the reservation
IS the principal spring, which has been
the main source of supply for many
years, but which cannot deliver enough
water to meet the demands Of the grow
ing city. Further makai still is a guIch
In which runs stream. IL was in this
that vannatta made his discovery
which has entirely changed the water
situation
Usually this stream runs full Of wa
J ter, and IL was always believed hereto
fore, even by the federal photographers,
that the entire supply Of the stream
came from a place far mauka Of the
EectINdtiOn. Inc uFoukuL urea OUT the
stream bed manka Of the reservation,
and still there was water in il where ii
ran through the lower part of the res.
ervation. Vannatta investigated and
found that the principal volume Of the
water in the stream originated in a
couple of springs right on the reseryai.
tion proper.
Discovery valuable to Hilo.
The discovery Is of the greatest pos
sible value to Hilo. First of all, Il
means that there is plenty of water on
the reservation to supply Hilo q needs
for many years TO come, and that with
out the necessity of securing the Ha.
waiian Board spring, especially as, ac-
cording TO Vannatta's estimate, the
new spring delivers more than twice the
volume given by the Beard = spring.
fhe county does, however y intsia %
ondemn the land OF the ridge mauka
of the watershed, which belongs to the
board, but which should be part of the
Preservation in order to prevent contani-
nation of the water shed. However, as
il has always been commended by the
owners that II is the spring which is
valuable, and not the land, IL Is ex-
pected that the county can secure the
land at no very great price, when it
| will let the Board keep its spring, as
the county, now that the new spring
has been discovered, will have no par
lticulal use for H. f58