Kalaupapa Water Supply System, Waikolu Valley to Kalaupapa Settlement, Island of Molokai, Kalaupapa, Kalawao County, HI

The address used in title block for the measured drawings incorrectly identifies the location as Maui County. The Kalaupapa Water Supply System is located in Kalawao County.

Significance: From 1866, Hawaiians suffering from the severest forms of leprosy were exiled to the peninsula of Kalaupapa on northwest Molokai. A beautiful, windswept area, it lacked a readily available supply of potable water, which had to be transported from nearby valleys watered by streams draining topside Molokai or themselves receiving abundant annual rainfall. A pipeline initially designed to capture runoff from nearby valleys proved inadequate, and periodic droughts encouraged extension of the system to tap the abundant springs and runoff of the Waikolu valley several miles distant from Kalaupapa. During the twentieth century, this system was enlarged and extended several miles up the valley, to an elevation of approximately 560 feet. By the late 1930s, the system provided a regular supply of pure, if mildly acidic water that was treated by aeration and sedimentation as it flowed down the valley. Built and modified by the Territory (and then State) of Hawaii, strenuous and difficult regular maintenance was performed largely by patients.

Unprocessed Field note material exists for this structure: N861

Survey number: HAER HI-42

Building/structure dates: 1873 Initial Construction

Building/structure dates: 1908 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1929 Subsequent Work

Building/structure dates: 1937 Subsequent Work

kalaupapa kalaupapa water waikolu waikolu valley settlement kalaupapa settlement molokai kalawao kalawao county hawaii flumes water supply pipes conduits intakes weirs ditches dams culverts tanks containers board of health board of hospitals and settlement sharon brown todd croteau kate farnham historic american engineering record jet lowe christopher marston richard o connor rick potts sierra club hawaii chapter united states leprosy investigation station photo ultra high resolution high resolution library of congress

1969 - 1980

Library of Congress

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