CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
The city finished installing seven pumps along both sides of the Ala Wai Canal yesterday. This pump is on the mauka side of the canal.
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City installs pumps into canal
The sewage bypass pipe provides a backup for the city in the second phase
The city completed the first phase of an emergency waste-water bypass yesterday to prevent future spills into the Ala Wai Canal and Waikiki.
Contractors finished installing seven pumps, each covered by a large orange-colored rectangular box, along both sides of the canal. Each diesel-powered portable water pump -- one installed behind Ala Wai Elementary School and the other six installed along Ala Wai Boulevard -- have the capability of pumping 6 million gallons of waste water a day, said Eldon Franklin, chief of the Department of Design and Construction's Wastewater Division.
So far, contractors hooked up three pumps to the 5,000-foot-long emergency bypass pipe that was submerged to the bottom of the canal three weeks ago, Franklin said. The remaining pumps will be hooked up to the pipe sometime during this month.
"We're happy to get phase one done yesterday," Franklin said. "That was a big milestone for us."
The bypass pipe connected to the pumps gives the city a back-up as they work on the second phase of the project should problems arise with the 42-year-old pressurized main, he said.
Forty-eight million gallons of raw sewage was diverted into the Ala Wai Canal and waters off Waikiki when the aged pressurized main -- connected to the Beach Walk Wastewater Pump Station on Kaiolu Street -- ruptured. It was the city's largest sewage spill.
The city spent less than $2 million to repair the force main. Cost for the wastewater emergency bypass project is estimated at $18 million, Franklin said.
The city will use the bypass pipe which is made of high-density polyethylene for at least five years before a permanent main is constructed to replace the existing line.
Contractors have already begun work on the second phase of the project that includes construction of an underground pipe through a "microtunneling" machine from a pit on the mauka side of the canal, according to a news release. Contractors completed pile-driving work to form the pit and are working to excavate it, Franklin said.
The machine will tunnel under the canal and Kaiolu Street and connect with the Beach Walk Wastewater Pump Station on the makai side of Kuhio Avenue. The bypass line will be used intermittently during the second phase of the project because city officials are concerned that the microtunneling work could adversely affect the old main, according to the news release.
Franklin asked for the public's patience and cooperation as they work on the remaining part of the project that is slated to be completed by the end of the year.