The Kona Low of 2026: The Muliwai Takes Back Its Ground

When the Kona Low storm hit (March 10–16, 2026), the water did what water does: it found the old muliwai. Over time, layers of sediment had been laid down here and covered with non-native grasses. Those unstructured fine sediments, held only by the shallow roots of non-native grasses, could not stabilize the soil. The flood back-cut through them like a plunge-pool waterfall, from the central Waiohuli site to Waipuilani, and opened up a gash that exposed a new muliwai. We documented it as it happened — from the air during the flood, on the ground in the days after, and with a point-cloud survey against our 2025 baseline. This is kilo at its most direct: the ʻāina showing us where the water wants to go.

From the air, during the flood

Aerial view of North Waiohuli under floodwater — North Waiohuli during the storm. Brown, silt-filled water fills the low ground between the shoreline and the road. Photo: Vernon K. Kalanikau.

Aerial view of South Waiohuli during the flood — South Waiohuli. The amount of water flowing from north to south toward the Waipuilani muliwai cut back the ground and opened up an additional 40 meters. Photo: Vernon K. Kalanikau.

Aerial view of the Waipuilani estuary spreading across low ground — Waipuilani: flooding near the pickleball courts. Photo: Vernon K. Kalanikau.

Measured: 2025 to 2026

Point-cloud surveys of the same ground, one year apart. Drag the handle to compare. The channel and wetland footprint grew by roughly forty meters where the flood reopened the muliwai.

2026 After the Storm

2025 Baseline

On the ground, in the days after

Freshly cut stream bank showing dark wetland soil layers beneath turf — The flood cut straight through the bank. Under a thin skin of lawn: dark, layered wetland soil — the estuary that was always here.

Cut bank with exposed soil layers above brown floodwater — Layers read like a record. Each dark band is organic wetland sediment laid down before the fill.

Close view of exposed soil strata in the cut bank — Roots, buried grass, and sand in section. This is what "muliwai" looks like below the surface.

Brown floodwater flowing through the newly opened channel — Excess water flowing from North Waiohuli, back-cutting like a plunge-pool waterfall to open up the muliwai.

A heron standing on a vegetated stream bank at Waiohuli — A heron on a well-structured bank at Waiohuli: an example of a stable bank, in contrast to the cut banks above.

Debris and cobble deposited beneath the bridge after the storm — Near Piʻilani Highway: large boulders dropped at the bridge. Water coming down from upcountry slows as it reaches lower-lying land, and the heaviest rocks fall out first.

Field of rocks and uprooted debris left by the flood — Also near Piʻilani Highway. As the flow keeps slowing, it drops progressively smaller rocks: boulders, then cobbles, then gravel. By the time it reaches the coast, where the site is, only fine sediment is left.

Eroded dune face and stream mouth at Kaʻonoʻulu after the storm — Kaʻonoʻulu: the dune face after the storm, cut back where the muliwai met the sea.

“Slow it, spread it, sink it.” The storm did in a few days what our restoration is designed to invite over years — and it showed us exactly where the wetland wants to be.

Written by

David Herring, Levity Creations

Geospatial survey and aerial mapping