The reflecting pools that flanked the 54-year-old Hawaii State Capitol were designed to represent the islands’ Pacific Ocean setting, no small element in the symbolism threaded through this landmark structure.

That particular symbol hasn’t been evident for some time, of course. A decades-long series of flaws and mishaps — leaks, odor and algae blooms among them — has left the pools reflecting no more than a romantic architectural vision gone wrong.

Initial repairs to some of the damage from the Diamond Head pool are underway, once again, with work on the Ewa side set to start next year.

But both pools have now been drained dry, and in the long term, the only logical course is to leave them that way. A waterless alternative would require the approval of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in that the Capitol is on both the Hawaii and National Registers of Historic Places.

This option, properly executed, also would involve reimagining the pool areas as a site for an attractive, imaginative replacement, one that could suggest the oceanic aspect in a way less challenging to maintain.

A garden, perhaps, with a meandering pathway with elements that add splashes of blue and green? Surely there are ideas out there to be tapped, and the public should be part of the conversation.

And the new design should be inviting to the people of Hawaii and visitors as well. That would be in keeping with the open-air and accessible character that has been the Capitol’s defining trait.

Of course, anything would be better than the ring of cheap wood that now walls off the empty pools, necessary for safety reasons but ugly all the same. A conventional fix on long-deferred repairs and leaks is due, of course, but some balance can be found between inventiveness and practicality.

This is not the first time that particular balance has eluded the state in its iconic projects. It’s hard to forget that the rust that eventually undermined Aloha Stadium was sold to the state as producing a protective veneer. A fatally bad call.

Reflecting pools are not that unconventional in concept, but due to a combination of maintenance lapses and design limitations, there were problems almost immediately. DLNR records show pool maintenance issues surfacing since the Capitol opened.

Could better maintenance have nipped the problem in the bud? Perhaps, but at this point there’s no sense in throwing good money after bad.

There are other changes coming to this once unfettered building — upgrades necessary and suited to times when public safety is at greater risk. On Aug. 7, Hawaii will join 37 state capitols that have incorporated metal detectors in their security systems. Two of the detectors will be at street-level elevators, with one at the chamber level.

Their locations where the public actually accesses the offices and chambers themselves shouldn’t be so obtrusive that it ruins the appealing experience of freely crossing through the rotunda, mauka to makai. There still can be public gatherings in the open space, and the added security is welcome, especially given the changes in law making the carrying of firearms much easier than it has been.

As for the Capitol’s appearance, there is no call to sacrifice building integrity. John Carl Warnecke, one of its principal architects, laid out the goals plainly. The building “had to visually symbolize the island’s heritage yet function and work on a practical basis as the 50th State’s seat of government,” he said. “Both must be treated with equal importance.”

Now is the state’s chance to show its determination to do exactly that — minus the water.