The Ala Moana Regional Park Improvement Plan should include removing the canal and ponds.

The canal and ponds are not maintained. They are filthy, containing bacteria, algae, garbage (even a shopping cart), poop from the visiting herons and egrets and much more. Aside from the daily tidal changes and storm runoff from Kakaako and Ala Moana Boulevard, some of the contaminated water flows into Kewalo Basin and the Ala Wai Harbor at low tide. Whatever remains in the canal and ponds is still so contaminated that people are warned against entering.

The canal should be replaced by a gravity pipe system to the nearby pumping station, pumped to the Sand Island Sewage Treatment Plant and eventually to the ocean. The ponds should be removed as they provide no aesthetic values nor recreational benefits other than a handful of infrequent remote-controlled model boaters and fishermen catching bait.

Keep the rest of the park as is and implement a comprehensive maintenance program.

Carol Ching

Kakaako