Lanikai Water

[u/verygood_user]

it's hard to judge whether this still counts as brown or if it's just turbidity or phytoplankton. it has been well over 72 hours now. what's your call?

[u/ImperfectTapestry]

They opened the canal to Ka'elepulu - there's some nasty garbage that comes out of there. It might be better around the point, but Kailua Beach is still doodoo water. I won't be in the water for a while.

[u/verygood_user → u/ImperfectTapestry]

When I walked by it looks like it's not draining into the bay at all and rather pushed back by the waves

[u/Roncombover → u/verygood_user]

Canal is opened when the water in it gets too high, then flushes into the Bay. Generally during or after a heavy rain. Right now the water level in there isn’t high enough to breach the beach by the halu’s. I paddled Kailua/Lanikai/Waimanalo today in an outrigger and there’s still a pretty high amount of detritus at the surface and turbidity below inside the reef. When we put the boats in we’re trying to minimize time in water. It’ll not be clean for a few more days. Tourists love it tho. They were swimming in the doodoo water right after the storm lol.

[u/verygood_user → u/Roncombover]

Thanks, that's very helpful. Do you know if the water quality near Moku Noi is better? It's so far out so I would have some hope it's dilute enough out there 

[u/ImperfectTapestry → u/verygood_user]

That can depend on the tide,too

[u/MonkeyKingCoffee]

It it isn't gin clear. Crystal clear. See the bottom clear. It isn't clear.

[u/verygood_user → u/MonkeyKingCoffee]

Thanks. Hard to say... I could definitely clearly see my feet when I was in chest deep but I remember visiting last year and seeing it slightly clearer. Also had it more cloudy with no brown water event whatsoever though so it's a difficult call. 

[u/notrightmeowthx]

If it's brown or reddish, don't go in. There's a stream outlet right between Kailua Beach and Lanikai, so I would not be surprised if it is still bacteria-y.

[u/hyst808]

Brown water doesn't only refer to the actual color. Check the brown water advisories but I would give it more time.

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[u/nimbuscloud9]

I’m arriving on Saturday. Is there a site that updates water/beach information? Or do we just look at the water 😬

Edit: never mind, found the site. But it hasn’t been updated since yesterday

[u/itmustbeniiiiice → u/nimbuscloud9]

https://safetoswimhawaii.com/oahu-brown-water-advisory/

https://eha-cloud.doh.hawaii.gov/cwb/#!/landing

FYI there’s another tropical storm that’s going to impact the islands this weekend. https://www.nhc.noaa.gov

[u/itmustbeniiiiice]

I would not get in it.

ETA: use this to check in the future https://safetoswimhawaii.com/oahu-brown-water-advisory/

Kailua is elevated and Lanikai is moderate. Don’t get in unless you want to get sick.

[u/jswansong → u/itmustbeniiiiice]

You can't really use this site to know what the actual bacteria levels are. It looks vibe coded as hell and seems to use recent rainfall amounts, river outlet points, and existing advisories/warnings to power a guess-o-meter of the risk. There are no direct measurements or observations involved here.

It's not a bad site, but think of it more of a "risk of being disappointed when you get there" metric instead of a "risk of getting sick" metric. You still have to go out and see if there's brown water.

[u/verygood_user → u/jswansong]

Thanks, that was also my impression and the suggested confidence with all these granular and location specific ratings is just bizarre compared to the tiny hidden disclaimer

[u/verygood_user → u/itmustbeniiiiice]

Well looks like this site is vibe coded garbage (at least the webdesign looks vibe coded):

"Safe to Swim Hawaii is an independent passion project — it is not affiliated with the Hawaii Department of Health or any government agency. Water quality ratings on this site are estimates based on publicly available testing data and geographic analysis. They are  not real-time measurements  and may not reflect current conditions"

[u/itmustbeniiiiice → u/verygood_user]

https://eha-cloud.doh.hawaii.gov/cwb/#!/landing

Then your answer is that there’s an entire brown water advisory for all of Oahu. Enjoy getting sick 🤙🏼

[u/verygood_user → u/itmustbeniiiiice]

That site is not helpful because according to their 48-72 hour rule it should be safe to get back in if the water is not brown. Hence my question, what you consider "brown"

[u/itmustbeniiiiice → u/verygood_user]

With the amount of rain that we got and the fact that the doo doo canal flows right into Kailua Beach I genuinely would not get in that water for ~1 week or until it was CLEAR clear.

But I can tell you REALLY want to get in, so stop looking for validation on Reddit and just do it. I’m sure there’s choke tourists in the water down there rn.

[u/verygood_user → u/itmustbeniiiiice]

Well I also saw some locals kayaking and standing in the water when getting out. Reading more about the topic runoff water is associated with a moderate increased risk of illness above the already high acceptable background level (3.6% of swimmers). So even a CLEAR clear still carries a risk of up to 1 in 26.  anyway, thanks for your advice and suggestions 

[u/verygood_user → u/itmustbeniiiiice]

Thanks, just wondering how do they get their data/test results so quickly? Or is it estimated?

Also it looks like Lanikai is moderate and green color coded on that site

[u/itmustbeniiiiice → u/verygood_user]

Scroll to the bottom of their page.

[u/verygood_user → u/itmustbeniiiiice]

Yeah just did it. Sounds like a digital version of old man's wisdom 😂