GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE@STARBULLETIN.COM Waikane Stream often overflows during heavy rain, flooding Kamehameha Highway.

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State is urged
to clear waterway

A Waikane stream floods
Kamehameha Highway
during heavy downpours

When it rains hard in Waikane, overflowing streams cut off the Windward Oahu lifeline of Kamehameha Highway, making it impossible for residents to get to work, school or appointments.

Kamehameha Highway was last closed on Feb. 3 because of flooding, the eighth time since January 2004, according to police and civil defense data.

But City Council Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz is frustrated with a state housing agency's lack of cooperation to clear a stream that causes the flooding.

"We have to fix this problem," said Dela Cruz, who organized a site visit to Waikane last month. "We don't want to be doing this when it rains."

The Department of Budget and Fiscal Services recently allowed the allotment of $250,000 in 2005 capital improvement project funding to mainly go toward clearing the city's half of an unnamed stream they jointly own with the state Department of Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii. Funding lapses at the end of the year.

But the housing agency said they are unable to clear their half of the stream due to various reasons.

Factors that contribute to flooding over the highway -- a low-lying roadway that is 6 inches above sea level and located near the shoreline -- include heavy rainfall, and accumulation of tangled hau and mangrove in the unnamed stream located near Waikane Stream that reduces water flow.

The city and state cleared Waikane Stream on the makai side of Kamehameha Highway last year to improve water flow, especially during a heavy downpour, but the unnamed stream continues to be a source of flooding.

In a recent letter to the Department of Design and Construction, housing agency executive director Stephanie Aveiro said they do not have the "budgeted funds, equipment or manpower" to do the clearing and requested the city clear their half of the stream.

"We understand the city used to clear the entire stream and floodway until recently. We request the city resume its prior practice. Furthermore, we believe it will be time- and cost-efficient to clear the entire stream and floodway in one effort compared to two separate efforts," she said.

"There are many variations of what could happen," she said, noting that the housing agency could possibly contribute manpower, hire a private vendor or re-prioritize its projects.

"If we have to re-prioritize our work, we would," Aveiro said. "It's obviously a concern. We will make sure it will be done in the quickest manner."

A resolution introduced by Dela Cruz urging the housing agency to do its part to clear the unnamed stream as well as maintain their portion of Waikane Stream is expected to be heard by the city Public Works and Economic Development Committee on July 27.

The city is also looking into having the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers administer a long-term comprehensive plan for flood remediation in Waiahole and Waikane.

David Chinen, longtime farmer and president of the Waikane/Waiahole Community Association, said the unnamed stream has not been cleared for the last 50 to 60 years.

"In some areas the water is close to 3 feet high under flash-flood conditions," Chinen said. "Cars can be washed away."