Photo: Sean Marrs

We’re just a group of volunteers, and we’ve never used tax dollars,” says Fumiko Chun, a founding member of the Genki Ala Wai Project.

Since 2019, the group has tossed nearly 300,000 Genki Balls into the Ala Wai Canal to remove sludge, eliminate odors and foster an ecosystem where fish and other marine life thrive. More than 17,000 volunteers, including students, senior citizens, corporate employees and visitors from Japan, have prepared and tossed the mud balls containing potentially beneficial microbes into the notoriously polluted canal.

“It started with kids, then their parents, grandparents, organizations and companies got involved,” says Ken Kaneshiro, president and CEO of the Hawai‘i Exemplary State Foundation, under which the project operates. “That’s been the most gratifying aspect, to see such broad community support.”

The group, however, faced an unexpected PR crisis last fall, after local media shared Hawai‘i Pacific University research that found that Genki Balls tossed into Kailua’s Hāmākua Marsh did not improve the canal’s water quality. The microbes intended to be released by the balls also weren’t evident in aquarium tanks that the researchers filled with water and sediment from the marsh. They said the water quality actually worsened.

Photo: Sean Marrs

Repercussions were swift. Although none of the organization’s core team wavered, the group’s monthly public events initially experienced a dramatic drop in attendance, and the much-touted Genki Balls project was suddenly cloaked in skepticism.

“Today, sightings of native fish, hammerhead sharks, spotted eagle rays and even monk seals are beginning to change the reputation of one of Hawai‘i’s most polluted waterways.”

Chun, who serves as the group’s media liaison, says she erred in assuming people wouldn’t believe the research since it involved only 200 Genki Balls. “We make 600 Genki Balls with preschoolers in two hours. What can you expect to do with only 200?” Chun says, sounding exasperated.

The Genki Ala Wai Project has spent more than $50,000 on water quality testing since forming. When the project began, only 44% of the submitted samples from the canal met Hawai‘i Department of Health standards. Now, that number is 74%, Chun says.

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In a response drafted after the public fallout, Chun and Kaneshiro, who is program director of the Center for Conservation Research and Training at UH’s Pacific Biosciences Research Center, wrote: “Together, we have seen tangible progress: over 20 inches of polluted sludge reduced, cleaner water with far fewer Enterococci bacteria (a key indicator of sewage pollution) near the Hawai‘i Convention Center, and the return of marine life to areas where it had long disappeared. Today, sightings of native fish, hammerhead sharks, spotted eagle rays and even monk seals are beginning to change the reputation of one of Hawai‘i’s most polluted waterways.”

The group also has received feedback about the canal’s smell: People say it’s not as bad as it used to be. Teachers at neighboring Jefferson Elementary have told project leaders that they used to keep their classroom windows closed because of the odor; now they’re open.

For their part, HPU faculty members Carmella Vizza and Olivia Nigro say they “stand firmly” behind the results of their study at Hāmākua Marsh. “We want our community engaged in efforts that meaningfully improve the quality of Hawai‘i’s waterways, and that starts with ensuring people have the information they need to make clear, informed decisions about where they invest their time and resources,” they said in a written response. The HPU researchers are hoping to secure funding for an independent study in the Ala Wai watershed.

Photo: Sean Marrs

In the meantime, the Genki Ala Wai Project continues, with monthly events for the public still being planned. “We’re going to keep going,” Chun says. “Our team is resilient, and I have faith in our community.”

genkialawai.org, @genkialawaiproject

Diane Seo is the editorial director of HONOLULU Magazine.