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Kokua Line June Watanabe |
Maunalua Bay work
is regular maintenanceQuestion: I see that workers last week started to dig again at Maunalua Bay, on the makai side of the Kalanianaole Highway bridge, going into the Hawaii Kai Marina. Last year, you gave information about dredging work there and concerns about silt pollution. It doesn't look like there's any kind of silt curtain to prevent runoff there now. What's going on?
Answer: No dredging is going on at the site. However, silt curtains are in place as part of the current project to extend and repair the sand retention groin built last year.
Jaap Suyderhoud, president of the Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association, said that's the assurance given by the contractor, American Marine.
Last year's work involved dredging at the entry channel to provide better access to the Hawaii Kai Marina.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources contracted American Marine to remove about 9,000 cubic yards of silt, then build a sand retention wall/groin using sand bags.
However, work was halted for months because the state Department of Health raised concerns about silt pollution. The concerns were resolved and the work was completed last year.
The Hawaii Kai Marina Community Association agreed to take over maintenance of the groin once the dredging was completed, Suyderhoud said.
"The Marina Association has agreed, in an easement that it bought from the state of Hawaii, to take over the responsibility of maintaining (the sand groin)," he said. "So it became our job, rather than the job of DLNR. But whatever we do requires the OK of the state of Hawaii -- of the DLNR engineering division."
He added, "We're not scooping up anything."
The sand groin was an important part of the dredging effort, Suyderhoud said, and was put there as an experiment by the state to keep sand -- swept in by tides from Portlock Beach -- from getting back into the dredged channel. The state will monitor the groin for five years to see how effective it is.
Suyderhoud said workers are extending the groin 50 feet, as well as repairing some of the earlier-placed bags.
An official with the DLNR confirmed that the maintenance work was in the hands of the association, even though it involves state waters on the makai side of the bridge, and the state Department of Health's Clean Water Branch said the required permits had been obtained.
Mahalo
To the people at the Kalihi satellite city hall and an unknown person who found my checkbook. It's sad that as we get older, we sometimes get more cynical. But acts such as these help restore your faith in the human race. The consequences of losing the checkbook and dealing with identity theft was almost too much to top off a very hectic day. The bank said it was either canceling my checking account or paying for a "stop check" on every single check lost. Thankfully, I didn't have to go through any of that. It's time for me to "Pay It Forward." -- Paul S.
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