Makuku Stream from Reservoir No. 3 to No. 2

All I knew about Makuku Stream is that it is mostly vanquished.

Dry. Missing? Entering Nu‘uanu Reservoir No. 3 from mauka side, it is practically invisible. Yet the reservoir is wide. And it is one of two streams that feed Reservoir No. 2.

A few months ago, I explored the exit (ewa) side of No. 3 and found a nearly dry Makuku Stream that leads to No. 3. The source of Makuku on the west side of Nu‘uanu Valley is at a lower elevation, so that wasn’t entirely shocking. Though it rains regularly in the back half of the valley, it is still summer.

Over the weekend, I realized that one of the paths from No. 3 goes directly toward No. 2. Not an exactly Point A-to-Point B, but close. So I took that path, went around a station (Board of Water Supply Nu‘uanu Lower Aerator) and wound up at the connecting waterway (Makuku). What is an aerator? Well, apparently, it is a filter-ish facility. For this location, the aerator — rebuilt in 1994 — replaced the previous one existing since 1932. Iron corrosion was a problem, so there. There was also a problem with something called cryptosporidium, so the new aerator addressed that health issue.

Here’s the info on the 1994 Nu‘uanu Lower Aerator.

The flow is strong, and probably because there had been modest rainfall that afternoon. But the stream gets wide, wider than many streams I’ve been in Honolulu.

Fish creating ripples and splashes. Not a lot of fish, but that surprised me. The water quality has to be decent. One of my favorite things about streams is seeing them in their natural state rather than channelized. Water control is vital, of course, and channelizing streams is key to preventing flood damage in a lot of parts of Honolulu. Here, though, it’s just nature.

The most unusual thing was a tree, maybe 30 feet high, sitting in the middle of the stream. Or maybe it’s a stream that wrapped around the tree. So, maybe that tree was just part of the forest and the stream connecting No. 2 and No. 3 is much more recent. A waterway created by a man-made flood-control instrument (reservoirs). Or the stream naturally flows there and changes direction and pathway every now and then. But the tree seems healthy.

Before Makuku Stream it meets No. 2, the walking space comes to a halt. It’s total brush, packed tightly, so I couldn’t get to the precise place where Makuku and No. 2 meet. Walking through the stream was not an option. Downstream, it looked more like a pond (not No. 2) from what I could see. I’m not a duck.

Mo‘ole Stream also connects to No. 3 in this area, but when I tried to trace Mo‘ole, it isn’t there. Or rather, it is dry. I think I found the path, the one with smooth stones, but I’m not 100-percent certain. Mo‘ole is a strong stream that sources from high up on the Kekoalele Ridge up toward the Koolaus. But here, it’s currently dry. I did wander up a path that led to the nearby residential area.

I’m certain that during rainy season, Mo‘ole and Makuku are flush and fluid. That’s when I’ll give this another look-see. If there’s a path along the makai side of Reservoir No. 2, that’s worth a walk, too.

Spending an hour or two here is a recharge. Slight drizzle. Shady under the foliage. Ever since that Cub Scouts hike in Hau‘ula more than three decades ago, streams have been one of my favorite destinations. The high of hiking miles up a mountain has no comparison, but I'd rather just be next to a stream, a pristine work of God's art.