Hohonu is collaborating with SECOORA and others to help coastal managers in the Southeast US plan for, manage, and adapt to community flooding.

HONOLULU, HAWAII, UNITED STATES, October 12, 2021 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Hohonu, Inc, a technology startup that provides environmental water level monitoring to help communities adapt to climate change, is part of a team selected as 1 of 4 participants to expand its water level observing network in the Southeast US region. The four teams are working with SECOORA (Southeast Coastal and Ocean Observing Regional Association - which is a member of the US Integrated Ocean Observing System, and part of NOAA).

SECOORA created the five-year project to help coastal managers plan for, manage, and adapt to community flooding. As part of the project, Hohonu has partnered with non-profit American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) and 54 communities to install water-level sensors that are deployed to areas between federal tide station assets to provide local water level observations and predictions to coastal communities.

More intense storms and frequent nuisance flooding has motivated communities across the southeast to develop prioritized sea level rise adaptation plans. Community-level data granularity will provide numerous economic benefits to local coastal communities that are presently brought to a full stand still when flooding shuts down critical infrastructure and transportation corridors.

“Hohonu’s data has become a source of knowledge that impacts how we manage our day-to-day operations as well as how we respond to extreme events like storms,” said Lucas Hernandez, Resilience Specialist at Kiawah Island, “Their network of sensors throughout the region paints an environmental picture we did not have before.”

Hohonu’s mission is rooted in applying scientific environmental technology to help underserved communities. The company was incorporated in 2019, but its origin dates back to 2014 when its CEO and co-founder, Dr. Brian Glazer, became frustrated with the lack of environmental monitoring tools that were available to him while helping to restore an 800-year old ancient Hawaiian fishpond.

Dr. Glazer, an Oceanography professor at the University of Hawai’i, has received past funding from the National Science Foundation and Schmidt Marine Tech Partners to commercialize Hohonu. To him, hardware is only part of the solution.

“Democratizing access to ocean-observing technologies has always been my driving motivation. And in order to deploy low-cost electronics, you need to invest heavily into the knowledge and software infrastructure to support those devices,” Glazer stated.

Years of experience has now made it routine for Hohonu’s team to deploy these devices, which typically are installed on bridges, piers, or docks. Now, the company is seeking to expand its services to the rest of the nation.

“Our goal is to empower communities with data, and ultimately to transform how data is used to help communities adapt to climate change.” Glazer remarks, “Anywhere in the US, Hohonu can now collect water data within a matter of days, at a fraction of the cost, and without requiring a team of installation technicians. We’re excited to bring this service to all communities who need it.”

Hohonu’s monitoring service can be requested at additional sites at hohonu.io

About Hohonu
Hohonu was founded in 2019 to democratize access to ocean-observing technologies. Founded by a team of scientists and engineers, it takes a science- and data-driven approach to help communities adapt to climate change. It has deployed water monitoring systems across the US to help federal and local governments, as well as businesses, understand hyperlocal water risk.


About ASBPA
Founded in 1926, ASBPA promotes the integration of science, policies and actions that maintain, protect and enhance the coasts of America. As America’s only association focused on the science and policies of coastal management, ASBPA is happy to work with media outlets and representatives both to offer background on coastal issues and interests and to connect reporters and editors with appropriate coastal contacts for use in coverage on the economic and environmental value of America’s shorelines to the nation.


About SECOORA
SECOORA – Southeast Coastal Ocean Observing Regional Association has a mission to observe, understand, and increase awareness of our coastal ocean; promoting knowledge, economic and environmental health through strong regional partnerships. SECOORA is one of 11 regional coastal observing systems that comprise the NOAA led United States Integrated Ocean Observing System (U.S. IOOS^®). IOOS includes 17 Federal agencies and a national network of 11 regional observing systems.

Brian Glazer
Hohonu
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