Solar-powered water wheel might help clean up Ala Wai

The Ala Wai Canal has for years been the butt of smelly-wastewater jokes, not to mention a collection point for cigarette butts and plastic litter that float in it before eventually flowing into the ocean.

Now three Hawaii nonprofit groups — Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii, Surfrider Foundation and 808 Cleanups — are hoping that a solar-powered water wheel similar to the one at Baltimore’s historic Inner Harbor could help clean the canal. Within a week the groups raised more than their target of $6,500 on Indiegogo to see whether a water wheel could work in Waikiki the same way it works in Baltimore.

“With crowdfunding, people are not only motivated, but have a financial stake,” said Kahi Pacarro, executive director of Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii. “So we want to have this be as transparent as possible and show people that we as a community can come together to create solutions to our problems and not just rely on the government to do it.”

The Inner Harbor Water Wheel, also known as “Mr. Trash Wheel,” looks like a covered wagon and removes about 50,000 pounds of trash a day using a combination of old and new technology. It was invented by John Kellett, who saw the pollution on his way to work for 20 years. The Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore, a nonprofit group, raised $750,000 to design, build and install it at the harbor.

Here’s how Mr. Trash Wheel works: A 14-foot steel wheel, powered by the river’s current, lifts debris from the water up a conveyor belt and into a dumpster. When there isn’t enough of a current, a 30-panel solar array pumps water into the wheel to keep it going.

Since it was installed in May 2014, Mr. Trash Wheel has helped remove 441 tons of litter, according to the Waterfront Partnership, including 237,070 plastic bottles, 327,819 polystyrene containers and 7.49 million cigarette butts.

The Indiegogo proceeds will bring representatives from Kellett’s company, Clearwater Mills, to Honolulu in the next two weeks to conduct the study. Results should be available in October. Then the nonprofit groups will launch another campaign to fund construction of the water wheel.

A water wheel on the Ala Wai Canal would cost about $800,000, Pacarro said.

It’s an effort that will require permits from both the city, which has jurisdiction over the land by the Ala Wai Canal, and the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which has jurisdiction over the water, he said.

“We met with the city and state, and they said, ‘We really like this technology, but before we can move forward we need to have an official feasibility study,’” said Pacarro.

The Ala Wai Canal is the perfect place for the water wheel, according to Pacarro, given that it is one of the largest contributors of debris to the ocean in the state. If it becomes a reality, the water wheel would be situated just makai of the last bridge on the Diamond Head side of the canal.

Beach cleanups, while worthy, can only do so much, he said. This effort to bring a water wheel to the Ala Wai is a proactive approach to a problem and an educational opportunity for students and tourists alike. Students could help identify and tally the trash, while tourists could take photos with the water wheel and learn what it does.

“There’s still a huge lack of information and education about the issue,” said Pacarro. “Until we can get people to stop using so many plastics, this problem is just going to continue to fester and get worse. So we need a stopgap measure to catch trash before it enters the ocean.”

Nina Wu writes about environmental issues. Reach her at 529-4892 or nwu@staradvertiser.com. Read more at thegreenleaf.staradvertiserblogs.com.