26 
Water is one of our most valuable natural resources, and yet 
we are apt to consider that the supply is inexhaustible. True, 
we can exercise but little control over the supply of water in 
general, but we can exercise control or influence over the manner 
in which it reaches us. 
In the Hawaiian Islands we enjoy the use of water for irrigat- 
ing and as a . source of power. Our streams are too small and 
quantities of w^ater insufficient to be available for navigation. 
The watersheds and capacity for storing water are very limited, 
and it is necessary therefore that we make of them the best use 
possible. 
It is not necessary to touch upon the value of water for irri- 
gating, but as a source of power the possibilities of development 
and utilization should be given serious consideration. The de- 
velopment of electricity during the last twenty-five years has been 
very rapid, and today over 30% of all the power used in the 
United States is utilized electrically, and it is predicted that, 
within the next ten years, fully half of the power used will be 
electric power. It is also estimated that the water power in the 
United States available for the production of electricity is five 
times the total amount of power now in use. Thus it is self- 
evident that, if properly conserved, and developed, water power 
is available for supplying all of the necessary power to be utilized 
in the United States for many generations to come. 
The water power available in our Islands is necessarily very 
limited, and it is of the utmost importance that it be conserved. 
At the present time a few developments have been made which 
are of considerable economic value, nearly all of this power being 
used to generate electric power for irrigating pumps. 
Of the developed powers by far the largest amount has been 
developed on Kauai. The developments there on the property of 
the McBryde Sugar Company, Kekaha Sugar Company and 
Makee Sugar Company aggregate 5,600 H. P., all of which 
is in constant use twenty-four hours a day, pumping 50,000,000 
gallons of water per day, varying in heads of from 175 to 443 
feet. There are some smaller developments at the Oahu Sugar 
Company, Waianae Sugar Company, Pioneer Mill Company and 
Hawi Mill Company, all used for pumping purposes. The entire 
electric supply in the city of Hilo, and for the street lighting of 
Honolulu, is derived from water power. Water is also utilized 
in many mills, especially on the north coast of Hawaii, to operate 
machinery and electric generators for use in the mills. The ag- 
gregate horse power of these developments is approximately 
8,000 horse power. 
It is impossible to make a close estimate of the prospective 
power development, and at best an estimate can be niade of only 
such powers as have been rendered available through partial de- 
velopments made for irrigating purposes, or where the possi- 
bilities are self-evident. The conservation and development of 
