Long-awaited work reduces Kailua flooding

On Sunday morning, Kailua resident Bob Thurston woke up to see ground water inching closer to his home as heavy rain pounded the island.

After years of complaining to the city that any heavy rain would flood his neighborhood near Kailua Beach Park, Thurston woke up yesterday morning, surprised and happy to see something was finally being done.

With scattered heavy rainstorms expected to last until late tonight, state and city workers and volunteers unclogged a crucial drain to decrease flooding at the park and piled 2-foot-high mounds of sand to prevent water from flowing into residents' homes on Kawailoa Street.

"What they have done here is a temporary fix," said Thurston, 63, who has lived in Kailua his whole life. "The park will fill up, but eventually the water will have to go somewhere. We could still have a problem, but at least they're doing something."

Residents in this area said since the city renovated Kailua Beach Park several years ago, any heavy rain overflows the park, flooding their yards and homes with ground water.

"Whenever there's big rain, my wife and I don't sleep because we worry too much," Thurston said.

This weekend's rain soaked the carpet in Kailua resident Scott Draper's bedroom with about 2 inches of water, which was mild compared with other floods from heavy rainfall in previous years.

Draper agreed with Thurston and said more permanent fixes are needed, including routine maintenance of the drains, as well as a proper drainage system that will carry water from the park and into Kaelepulu Stream.

"It's not just a couple of residents complaining about some water in our yards," said Draper, 50. "It's a really serious problem."

Volunteers from the city Department of Emergency Management were on standby in case the rain caused more damage around the island, said spokesman John Cummings. Forecasters said the worst of the heavy rainstorms appeared to have passed on Sunday.

The city canceled its afternoon rides of TheBoat yesterday because of choppy water with heavy rain and high winds, said project manager Darin Mar. TheBoat is expected to operate normally today if the weather cooperates.

The state Department of Health is investigating several sewage spills from Sunday's rain, including 2 million gallons of waste water that flowed into Pearl Harbor, to determine any violations if these are areas that overflow more often than not, said enforcement section supervisor Mike Tsuji.

The state Department of Health has posted a brown-water advisory for Oahu. Health officials advise the public to stay out of floodwaters that could contain pollutants from cesspools, sewer manholes, animal wastes, pesticides and other debris.