ʻOheʻo Pools Open Again After Four Month Closure

December 8, 2015, 3:09 PM HST

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The pools at ʻOheʻo in the Kīpahulu District of Haleakalā National Park are now open again after a four month closure following the theft of stream monitoring equipment in August.

Park officials say the equipment, consisting of sensors located along several miles of the Palikea and ʻOheʻo streams, has since been replaced.

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According to a Park Service announcement, acquisition, shipping, installation and testing of the new equipment led to the four-month delay in re-opening the pools.

Per Haleakalā National Park safety policy, the pools are closed to visitors when flash flood conditions occur or if the monitoring system becomes nonfunctional and water flow rates cannot be determined.

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Sensors installed along the stream track water levels and rainfall. The system sounds an alarm in the Kīpahulu Visitor Center when flash flood conditions are imminent. When the alarm is triggered or the monitoring system becomes non-functional, the pools are closed to the public.

The National Park Service is currently developing system redundancies so that any future malfunctions can be remedied more quickly.

“We regret any inconvenience that the pool closures have caused to our community and visitors,” said Kīpahulu District Manager James Herbaugh, adding that the “primary concern has to be the safety of visitors.”

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The public is reminded that when the ʻOheʻo pools are closed, visitors must abide by posted “stream closed” signs and the direction of park staff. Injuries and fatalities have resulted from visitors entering closed areas.