Soil series profile
Wahiawa soil series
Wahiawa is a well drained soil with a silty clay surface, mapped on 22,013 acres in 1 county in HI. Hydrologic group B.
- Drainage class
- Well drained 100% of mapped acres
- Hydrologic group
- B 100% of mapped acres
- Typical topsoil pH
- 5.6 moderately acidic · range 5.6–5.6
- Mapped area
- 22k acres in 1 county, 1 state
Typical Wahiawa profile
Texture and pH by depth
Show as a table
| Depth | Texture | pH | Clay | Sand | Organic matter |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0–12 in (H1) | Silty clay | 5.6 | 75% | 4% | 3.5% |
| 12–60 in (H2) | Silty clay | 6.5 | 65% | 12% | 1.2% |
What this means
What Wahiawa soil means for gardens, lawns and septic systems
For gardens
Typical topsoil in Wahiawa soils is moderately acidic: pH 5.6. Many vegetables grow well here, and some gardens benefit from a little lime. Test before adding any.
Clayey topsoil covers 100% of mapped Wahiawa acres. Clay holds water and nutrients but drains slowly and compacts if worked wet: add compost, avoid tilling soggy soil and consider raised beds. The most common surface texture is silty clay (100% of mapped Wahiawa acres).
100% of mapped Wahiawa acres is moderately well to excessively drained, which suits most garden plants.
For lawns and yards
Most land is in hydrologic groups B and C, where rain soaks in at a moderate pace.
For a septic system
For conventional septic absorption fields, NRCS rates <1% of the acres in mapped Wahiawa soils very limited, >99% somewhat limited and 0% not limited.
Only a licensed site evaluation or perc test at the actual lot decides whether a system is allowed and which design.
Where Wahiawa soil is found
Mapped acres
Wahiawa is mapped in Hawaii.
| County | Acres | Share of county land |
|---|---|---|
| Honolulu County, HI | 22,013 | 5.8% |
Septic absorption fields
NRCS rating, share of Wahiawa acres
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Not limited | 0.0% |
| Somewhat limited | 99.1% |
| Very limited | 0.9% |
Drainage, water table and flooding
Share of Wahiawa acres
- Depth to seasonal high water table
- None reported within about 6.5 feet (median where reported).
- Flooding
- Not mapped as flooding on most acres.
- Slope
- Typically 2–6% (median 6%).
- Topsoil organic matter
- Median 3.5%.
Drainage class
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| Excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat excessively drained | 0.0% |
| Well drained | 100.0% |
| Moderately well drained | 0.0% |
| Somewhat poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Poorly drained | 0.0% |
| Very poorly drained | 0.0% |
Hydrologic soil group
Show as a table
| Category | Share of acres |
|---|---|
| A: fast infiltration (mostly sandy or gravelly) | 0.0% |
| B: moderate infiltration | 100.0% |
| C: slow infiltration | 0.0% |
| D: very slow infiltration (clayey, shallow or wet) | 0.0% |
| A/D: D as is, A if drained | 0.0% |
| B/D: D as is, B if drained | 0.0% |
| C/D: D as is, C if drained | 0.0% |
Sources & data dates
- Source
- USDA NRCS Soil Survey Geographic Database (SSURGO), queried through Soil Data Access. Public domain.
- Data date
- SSURGO as published on November 3, 2026 (most recent survey area update October 26, 2026). NRCS refreshes SSURGO each October.
- Scope
- All map unit components named Wahiawa (component kind "Series") in SSURGO: 22,013 acres.
- Method
- Shares are by mapped acres of Wahiawa components. The profile comes from the single largest Wahiawa component. Full methodology.