Final phase of Ala Wai
dredging gets go-ahead
for this month
The final phase of dredging the Ala Wai Canal should begin by the end of the month, now that the state Department of Land & Natural Resources has a permit to dispose of the dredge material.
Project contractor American Marine Corp. expects to have removed the last 1,800 cubic yards of sediment from the Kapahulu end of the canal by the end of September, said DLNR spokeswoman Debbie Ward.
Between August and May, the $7.4 million project has removed a total of 184,151 cubic yards of sediment, which was disposed of at an Environmental Protection Agency-approved deep-ocean site.
Because it contains lead and the termite-killing chemical chlordane, the last 1 percent of the dredge material will be buried in a 130-foot-square, lined cell on the shoulder of the Honolulu Airport reef runway. The state Department of Health Environmental Management Division approved the disposal method Monday, following a public hearing July 11.
Work had been halted since June awaiting the permit. American Marine and the state are negotiating about any additional payment because of the delay.
After 25 years of no dredging, "it is a significant accomplishment to finally be completing this long-needed canal dredging," DLNR Director Peter Young said. "Dredging has restored channel depths and their sediment-holding capacities, and provides flood protection. ... We have also heard from canal users that conditions are improved for canoe paddling and kayaking."
