Living on the island of Oahu brings unique stormwater challenges to Iwalani Sato, community relations specialist in stormwater management for the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii.Most Hawaiian watersheds are small, and streams are short and steep with low but flashy flows. The island also has distinct weather. On the windward side of the Koolau Mountains, heavy rains create high-volume, high-velocity flows in the streams and upland areas. On the leeward side, the southwestern coastal areas are dry. The differences occur over a horizontal distance of a mile.“The mountains are high enough to have a water cycle,” says Sato, whose
