A Living Connection Between Mountain and Sea

The spring pool itself is modest in size — roughly 1,000 square feet — but extraordinary in what it supports. Water gurgles up from an underground lava tube, the same artesian geology that once fed dozens of springs along this coastline. From the pool, the flow passes through a mākāhā, a traditional Hawaiian sluice gate designed to allow small fish to swim freely in and out while trapping larger ones inside the pond. Beyond the fishpond, the ʻauwai (water channel) connects to Paikō Lagoon and ultimately Maunalua Bay.↗↗

This fresh-to-saltwater gradient creates a fertile estuary habitat that is rare in urban Honolulu. Rare freshwater limpets called pīpīwai and hapawai cling to the drystack stone wall lining the spring. On the pond floor, a carpet of prized green limu ʻeleʻele (edible algae) feeds ʻamaʻama (mullet) and āholehole (young Hawaiian flagtail). Native shrimp — ʻopae ʻoehaʻa and ʻopae huna — shelter among the roots, and the endangered ʻaeʻo (Hawaiian stilt) forages in the shallower fishpond waters. Upside-down jellyfish have been spotted in the estuary, adding an otherworldly shimmer to the brackish channels.↗↗

Deep Cultural Roots

The name Kānewai literally means "Water of Kāne." In Hawaiian tradition, Kāne is the embodiment of male procreative energy expressed through fresh water flowing on or under the earth — in springs, streams, and rivers. According to one moʻolelo (origin story) recorded in 1929, "So Kāne again struck the earth and water gushed forth and many were the waterholes made by Kāne between Hanauma and Leahi (Diamond Head)."↗

Kānewai is believed to have once been a freshwater source for inhabitants of nearby ancient lava tube caves. Its historical significance extends to the very first recorded European contact on Oʻahu: in 1786, Captain James Portlock's ailing crew was reportedly supplied with fresh water from calabashes brought to their ship by native canoes — almost certainly drawn from this spring. Upon their return later that year, they were visited by the aliʻi nui Kahekili, the paramount chief who controlled all Hawaiian islands except Hawaiʻi.↗↗

Surrounding the spring are tangible links to ancestral practice: the mākāhā (fishpond sluice gate) engineered to work with tidal currents, and a kūʻula — a fishing stone shrine with an upright Kū stone balanced by a low Hina stone — where fishermen of old gave offerings for a plentiful catch.↗

Restoration and Community Stewardship

In the early 2000s, the spring was nearly lost. Overgrown with dense jungle, dark, stagnant, and buried behind a deteriorating house, it was on the verge of being subdivided for development. The Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, co-founded by historian and youth educator Chris Cramer in 2007, began restoration work in 2010 after receiving permission from the landowner. Thousands of hours of volunteer labor — removing invasive species, clearing jungle growth, rebuilding the dry-stack wall, and replanting native vegetation — gradually brought the pool back to its current sparkling condition.↗↗

The 1990s widening of Kalanianaʻole Highway was itself a contributing factor in the spring's decline, as road construction damaged the artesian water system that fed nearby sites. Today, MFHC collaborates with the State DLNR Engineering Branch on a trenchless drilling project to repair the mauka-to-makai water flow, an innovative engineering solution that could serve as a model for other communities with damaged water resources.↗

Since 2017, the property has been permanently protected through state and city conservation easements, owned and stewarded by the community via the nonprofit. The heritage center continues to host school groups, community volunteers, and Hawaiian cultural practitioners for work days and educational programs focused on invasive species removal, traditional stone masonry, water-quality monitoring, and native plantings.↗↗

Visiting

Kānewai Spring is not a conventional tourist attraction with open public hours. It is a working conservation and cultural education site, and casual walk-up access may be restricted. The best way to experience the spring is through a guided visit or community work day organized by the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center, which holds regular volunteer events — community members have described returning to work every third Saturday of the month.↗↗

The site sits directly along Kalanianaʻole Highway (HI-72) in the Kuliʻouʻou neighborhood of East Honolulu, between Hanauma Bay and Kailua. If you are driving the coastal route, look for the heritage center's presence at 5975 Kalanianaʻole Highway. For inquiries about visits, volunteer opportunities, or educational programs, contact the Maunalua Fishpond Heritage Center directly at maunaluafishponds@gmail.com.↗↗

The spring pool is visible from the highway-side vantage point, and the sound of water rippling through the ancient stone gate into the fishpond beyond is a powerful reminder of what nearly disappeared. For those who arrive during a work day, you may find volunteers knee-deep in the water, clearing algae or tending the native plantings along the banks — a scene that itself tells the story of what it took to bring this place back.↗

The Fishpond Connection

Kānewai Fishpond — the water body directly makai (seaward) of the spring — is the last functioning shoreline fishpond in Honolulu (aside from Mokauea Island). It has been listed on the State Historic Register and recognized as one of Oʻahu's few remaining royal ponds and one of only two remaining loko puʻuone hakuone (Type II sand-bar fishponds) on the island. Artifacts found here, including water gourds and fishing implements now housed at the Bishop Museum, suggest the pond has been in use for nearly a thousand years.↗