Water Development on Tropic Volcanic Islands—Type Example: Hawaiia

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Abstract
Despite rainfalls which commonly exceed 200 inches per year in the mountainous portions of many of the islands in the Hawaiian chain, most streams in the islands are very flashy, and only a few carry water throughout the year. This is owing to the extremely permeable nature of the volcanic rocks and soils which make up the Hawaiian islands, and, in fact, the permeability of some of the younger volcanic rocks is so great that virtually no runoff occurs. As a result, development of reliable year‐round sources of surface water is difficult especially on the leeward portions of the islands. Furthermore, surface storage is difficult because of the high infiltration capacities of the rock and soil cover. Consequently, development of ground water provides the most abundant and the most reliable source of water supply for these islands. Three modes of fresh ground‐water occurrence may be distinguished: perched, dike‐confined, and basal. Although perched and dike‐confined ground water are of considerable local importance, the basal ground‐water body is by far the most widely developed and most important source of fresh ground water for these islands.

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