Pililāʻau (Pōkaʻī Bay)

This page shows two separate sources for the Pililāʻau / Pōkaʻī Bay area: current DOH advisories and dated Surfrider Blue Water Task Force community samples. Check the Community Water Testing section for the sample date, result and full Surfrider report. A sample describes the water collected at that place and time; it does not establish today's water quality. Check the live DOH status above separately.

Read each community result with its collection date and the linked Surfrider report in Community Water Testing. That section is refreshed separately from this explanatory text.

A result below the Beach Action Value does not establish current water quality, and a result above it is not itself a DOH advisory. Current DOH notices appear in the live status section above; the community sample remains a separate, dated observation.

The Hawaii Department of Health does NOT routinely test Pililāʻau (Pōkaʻī Bay). The community-tested readings on this page come from the Surfrider Foundation Blue Water Task Force, a volunteer-led monitoring program run by the Surfrider Oʻahu chapter.

BWTF samples Pililāʻau (Pōkaʻī Bay) biweekly using the IDEXX Enterolert method (MPN/100mL), and compares results against the same 130 Beach Action Value DOH uses statewide. See our overview of citizen water-quality testing in Hawaiʻi for the methodology and how BWTF data fits with DOH coverage.

Pililāʻau Army Recreation Center is on Pōkaʻī Bay in Waiʻanae. Maʻili Beach Park is a separate beach farther south. Check Army MWR access and guest eligibility before using the recreation center facilities.

Summer mornings (May–September) bring the calmest water. The Wai‘anae coast is one of Oʻahu's best summer swimming stretches once the north shore is breaking. Less crowded than Ko Olina and Waikiki.

Army MWR lists Pililāʻau Army Recreation Center at 85-010 Army Street, Waiʻanae, on Pōkaʻī Bay. Use that destination for directions; do not navigate to Maʻili Beach Park for this sample site.