Hawaiʻi is no stranger to heavy rains and floods — which makes it critical to detect and prepare for severe weather.
That’s why a local company developed a new, low-cost tool to monitor water levels and gauge the threat of flash flooding.
Brian Glazer is the CEO and co-founder of Hohonu, an Oʻahu-based company that takes its name from the ‘Ōlelo Hawaiʻi word for “deep.”
The company’s origins began at the Mānoa Innovation Center, an area notorious for flooding. From these humble roots, Hohonu developed sensors that are now helping to provide real-time data to protect life and property.
HPR spoke with Glazer to learn more about Hohonu’s story and impact.
“Our roots are from a 400-year-old Hawaiian fishpond that sees environmental challenges today that didn't exist 400 years ago,” he told HPR.
“And so applying contemporary technologies, especially if we can do them cost-effectively, to help communities in the coastal zone, in inland, who are seeing more frequent and more intense flooding threats, that's what we're all about.”
According to Glazer, Hohonu’s sensors are now used in 18 states and over 230 locations.
Back home in Hawaiʻi, they were instrumental in helping keep the state safe during Hurricane Lala.
“As Hurricane Lala was approaching, the Department of Land and Natural Resources approached us. There was a gauge that was malfunctioning up on Wahiawa Reservoir, and they asked us if we could do a rapid deployment in advance of the approaching storm,” Glazer recounted.
“Ours was able to quickly gap-fill and provide that real-time water level data during Hurricane Lala, showing inches of water level within the spillway.”
Since then, Hohonu has secured further contracts with the DLNR to deploy their sensors in additional reservoirs across the state.
More information about Hohonu and the sensors they develop can be found on their website.
This story aired on The Conversation on Sept. 2, 2026. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Jinwook Lee adapted this story for the web.
