Thank you for an interesting article. I live in the Waikiki neighborhood of Honolulu, which is separated from the rest of the city by the Ala Wai Canal. The canal collects the water from three streams that run from the top of the Ko'olau Mountains, through rain forest and urban neighborhoods, eventually following the canal out to the Pacific Ocean.

Unfortunately, people have dumped toxic material into the streams for years, and only a handful of fish species have been able to survive in the murky waters of the Ala Wai. However, the city and volunteer organizations have developed a plan to clean up the canal using genki balls. The latter are about the size of tennis balls and are composed of clay soil, rice bran, molasses, water and a culture of both aerobic and anerobic microorganisms (primarily lactic acid bacteria, yeast, and phototrophic bacteria). The recipe was developed by Dr. Teruo Higa, an emeritus professor of horticulture at the University of the Ryukyus in Okinawa.

Approximately 250,000 balls, each containing roughly 300,000,000 microorganisms, will be deposited in the sludge at the bottom of the canal by the time the project is included. Many years ago, I am told, mullet--a sleek silver fish--could be seen playfully leaping in and out of the water as they swam through the Ala Wai. That ended years ago when the polluted water could no longeer be tolerated by the fish.

A few weeks ago, I was strolling along the canal when a fish suddnly broke from the water, leaping ahead perhaps five to seven feet. Its shimmering silver scales reflected the afternoon sun as it sailed through the air. It was a thrilling sight--the mullet is coming home.