Kuhio sand project postponed again

The state will wait for summertime surf conditions to die down

Kuhio Beach will have to wait until fall for the much-postponed sand replenishment because early summer swells could hamper the 30-day project, the Department of Land and Natural Resources has decided.

The project to move offshore sand back to the beach was to have begun three weeks ago but was delayed in the wake of last month's 48-million-gallon sewage spill into the Ala Wai Canal and subsequent Waikiki beach closures.

It was the latest of several postponements in the last three years for the $500,000 project.

Now the project to move 10,000 cubic yards of sand to the beach will be done in the fall, when South Shore surf heights normally decrease, according to a news release.

Low wave action is required for the project to be successful, since it would place a barge in the surf zone to suction sand from the bottom and send it to shore via a submerged, temporary pipeline, said Dolan Eversole, a University of Hawaii Sea Grant coastal geologist who is managing the project.

"It is difficult to justify undertaking this project now, when the south swells will severely impact working conditions offshore and likely cause costly delays," said DLNR Director Peter Young.

The DLNR hopes the project will be a model for other beach replenishment projects around the state.

As a precautionary measure, the state hired a consultant to test the offshore sand for the presence of enterococcus bacteria, used to indicate pollution with sewage. April 10 test results showed levels higher than is desired for recreational waters, but a week later the indicator bacteria levels decreased.

Eversole noted there is no standard for bacteria in sand and no state or federal requirement to test for it.

"After consulting with the Department of Health, we decided we could move forward. However, our narrow operating window in March and April has now passed us, and we are rescheduling," Young said.