Ka Loko, Morita stabilized
Ka Loko and Morita reservoirs are stabilized and no longer a threat downstream, setting the stage for repairs to begin on the Kuhio Highway, state Adjutant General Robert Lee said yesterday.
Ka Loko is holding about one-fifth of its 1,400 acre-foot capacity and Morita holds no more than a stream, Lee said.
Twenty-seven of Kauai's 54 dams had been inspected by a team of state and federal engineers on Monday and no urgent problems were detected, Lee said.
"The dams are safe; they won't break," he said.
Fifteen more dams were inspected yesterday, said Bob Masuda, deputy director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
"We're crunching," he said of the teams of DLNR, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and U.S. Geological Survey engineers.
Lee said pumps flown to Kauai from Maui and the Big Island are being used to pump out low-lying areas on the south side of Kauai.
"And of course I have to save one for (state Transportation Director) Rod Haraga to pump down both sides of the Kuhio Highway," Lee said.
Haraga said he hoped to name a contractor for the work and meet with Kauai County officials about it tomorrow. Engineers are developing designs, he said.
The Transportation department expects to be able to repair the two-lane road while keeping one lane open, Haraga said.
In other reports, DLNR Director Peter Young said:
» The USGS has installed water-level monitors at Ka Loko and Puukaele reservoirs and will put them on Waita and Kapaiia. Water levels can be seen online at hi.water.usgs.gov.
» The state Commission on Water Resource Management has authorized Kauai Marriott personnel to cross a stream to get equipment in to make emergency repairs.
» Fern Grotto tours have resumed, but tourists must take the upper trail to access the grotto because the lower portion of the trail is flooded.