When I got up this morning a little after 4 am for a quick bathroom stop I noticed it was raining HARD outside. When I got up and showered at 6:30 am it was still raining HARD. The rain continued to pour all morning until around 11:30 when it started tapering off. As part of our Visitors’ Center Training Meeting we rode the tram over to the Polynesian Cultural Center and back as the sister missionaries rehearsed the dialog given during the tram tour and discussed various sections of the tour. I took this picture as we went past the BYU-Hawaii rugby field at about 8 am.

When we got back to the Center, the sewer system was alarming, an indication that the inflow was more than the lift pump station could handle and the holding tank was nearing full. If that were to continue, the system would back up into the restrooms. In addition to all that, the large pool with the three fountains in the courtyard was full and overflowing.

The sewer system in Laie is a combined sewer system set up for both waste material as well as rain water. That means that all of the rainwater coming off the roof of the Center goes into the sewer system along with the toilets, sinks, and drinking fountains. The treatment facility is to the northwest of the Center at a higher elevation, so the system requires a lift station to pump the water up to the treatment facility. A large holding tank is in the ground beside the Center as a buffer for the lift pump. Well, the deluge was definitely more than the lift pump could handle! The city pumped the holding tank three times and it was still pouring rain.

The solution? Close our bathrooms. That way they could leave the cover off the holding tank and if it overflowed, it would go out into the parking lot and down into the storm drain system. Because the tank had been completely emptied and if we didn’t use the toilets, the overflow would be just rain water with no effluent.

Of course, within the hour the rain abated and by 1 pm had completely stopped. The clouds started thinning out. The sun came out. And the humidity went up to 96% for the rest of the day. The Polynesian Cultural Center had a number of issues with the rain and the canal through the PCC filled to overflowing, so the PCC closed their doors for the day, probably disappointing a lot of people who won’t have another chance to go there. They’ll get their money back and probably get a huge discount on another ticket, but for many people, their trip to Hawaii is a once-in-a-lifetime event. Because the PCC was closed, there were no trams in the afternoon to bring PCC visitors over to the Visitors’ Center. All in all, this was a very unusual day.

After the sun came out we took a drive over to the west side of the island to watch the sunset at Sunset Beach. It was a very pretty sunset and a nice bookend to a very unusual day. Tomorrow we’re at the Center from 2:30 pm until 8 pm. The PCC should be open and the trams running. Many people who weren’t able to go to the PCC yesterday will be there today. I think our afternoon at the Center will be very busy!

Ta ta for now! Life is just ducky….