ALA WAI BOAT HARBOR CLEANUP
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The state has hired Pacific Environmental Corporation to clean up debris stuck in the Ala Wai Boat Harbor as a result of the recent storms and 50 million gallons of raw sewage poured into it. A worker sprayed disinfectant on some of the debris that was taken out of the water yesterday.
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Ala Wai harbor cleanup costing extra
$50,000 is spent to guard against contamination
What used to be a routine cleanup at the mouth of the Ala Wai Canal is now costing the state $50,000 because of last month's 50-million gallon sewage spills.
Workers in hazardous waste containment suits are loading, disinfecting and disposing of debris at the Ala Wai harbor debris trap and around the front row of docks between the Ilikai and Hawaii Prince hotels. The work began yesterday and continues tomorrow.
State officials acknowledged that they are treating the debris as hazardous materials because harbor waters may have caused the infection that led to the death of 34-year-old Oliver Johnson, a Waikiki man who fell into the harbor on March 31 and died about a week later.
"Because of the injury and death that happened, as a precautionary step we've gone through the extreme of having a hazmat company here," said Peter Young, chairman of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
"This is not a normal cleanup process ... the material that is here behind us is the material that has come down at the same time as when the city was dumping up to about 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai so we wanted to be cautious and protect the operator."
DENNIS ODA / DODA@STARBULLETIN.COM
This debris trap area is just makai of Ala Moana Boulevard bridge over the Ala Wai Canal near a marine repair facility. Clean-up work began yesterday and will continue tomorrow.
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State officials said they usually clean the debris trap three to four times a year but that they have already cleaned the trap four times since the storms and heavy rains began in mid-February without taking hazardous materials precautions.
A typical cleanup of just the debris trap costs about $6,000. The hazardous material precautions and the extra cleanup of the harbor are the reasons this cleanup is costing tens of thousands of dollars more, officials said.
Young said the state may seek partial reimbursement from the city for the cleanup cost, but the priority right now was to get as much debris as possible out of the water.
Yesterday's work included crews from Pacific Environmental Corporation lifting debris out of the water using heavy machinery, spraying it with a disinfectant solution made up of mostly water, bleach and alcohol, then lifting it into 20-foot metal bins which will be taken to the Waimanalo landfill. DLNR Spokesman Clifford Inn said once the larger debris is removed workers will fish smaller chips out with pool-cleaner type pole-nets.
Some who live and work at the harbor were unimpressed with the state's efforts.
"Since this spill happened I've seen cats and rats floating in the water here," said Jim Silva, owner and operator of Tropical Licks Freshmade Mexi Grinds foodstand. "My business has gone down about 40 percent.
"The way I see it there's reactive and proactive work you can do, and I guess proactive ain't part of the budget."
Others are more concerned about the waters that people actually swim in, rather than the harbor waters where swimming is prohibited.
"Tourists ask me every day if it's OK to go back into the water," said Waikiki Beachboy Larry "Aki" Akiyama. "In my opinion it's not safe. ... I can smell it. It's an instinct from too many years on the beach."