In February, The Conversation spoke with University of Hawaiʻi's Shellie Habel as she fished out specialized equipment from the Ala Wai Canal near Royal Hawaiian Avenue. Habel has been researching groundwater inundation in Waikīkī.
Residents at the other end of Waikīkī are also grappling with the impacts of sea level rise and coastal erosion.
The Conversation spoke with Jess out front of the Sheraton Waikīkī Beach Resort. She has been working for a Waikīkī catamaran company for a year.
She noticed how a sidewalk at the hotel gets filled up during high tide.
“This whole sidewalk gets filled up,” she said. “It's like a little lazy pool, so here and there, it's shocking. I mean, you know, seeing the tides come up so high, because you never know what the next year is going to look like.”
The Conversation also heard from Thomas, who for decades has been fishing off of the Fort DeRussy groin in front of the Outrigger Reef Waikīkī Beach Resort. He has noticed some significant changes over the years.
“Everything is a little higher. Everything's more intense,” he said. “This place is 60 years old. It's understandable how it's failing, but it's to be expected. None of this stuff was naturally here. So the course of erosion is going to happen repeatedly. It's a constant battle. They bring the sand in, the kai brings it out every 10 years. They replenish it.”
The Conversation will be broadcasting live from Waikīkī tomorrow. HPR will hear from officials and community members who live and work in Waikīkī about the challenges of coastal erosion and climate change.
This interview aired on The Conversation on May 7, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m.
