The land the partners cultivated was semi-arid former dry forest, not ideal for growing sugarcane, a crop that required much water. Samuel Alexander realized that rain was plentiful miles away in the rainforests on the windward slopes of Haleakalā mountain. Thus, he designed a long irrigation aqueduct that diverted water from that part of Haleakalā to their plantation. Work started on the aqueduct in 1876 and was completed two years later in 1878.