Residents seek Kawa Stream safety measures
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau
KANE'OHE — A proposed repair project on Kawa Ditch is being welcomed by residents on Kawa Stream, but they say more should be done to check erosion, deteriorating concrete lining and overgrown trees along the banks in their areas.
With the recent drought, residents said they feel safe, but the last heavy flooding brought the level of the meandering stream — normally not more than a few inches deep — to the top of a concrete bank about 10 feet above the stream bed.
"During the rainy season it gets scary," said Carol Shiraishi, whose mother owns a home on the stream. "Everybody would go outside and check."
The project, upstream from Shiraishi's mother's home, calls for construction of an 850-foot, concrete-lined channel within the city's right-of-way. The ditch, used to channel runoff into Kawa Stream, is off Mokulele Drive near Mikihilina and Lehu'uila streets.
The $900,000 project, expected to take four months to complete, will begin in the second half of next year, but first the city is seeking public comment on the proposal.
The area was partially lined in 1963, and since then parts of the lining have been undermined by water, the city said. Erosion has hampered maintenance by limiting vehicular access and has allowed the water to collect and stagnate, resulting in severe odors, the city said.
Cheryl Taira, who lives on Pouhanu'u Place, points to similar problems in the stream next to her home. The sloping bank is about 30 feet high and erosion has eaten away at it, leaving her fence sitting on the edge in one spot.
But she's more concerned about a 40-foot tree that grows on the banks and whose limbs break easily during a wind storm.
"The tree cracks easily; that's what scares me," Taira said. "If it ever plugs up the river when it's raining hard, it will back up here."
Last year, homeowner Patrick Lee expressed concerns about erosion near his home, which was built near the bank of the stream. He and Taira have planted ground cover on their banks to prevent erosion.
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To comment on project, write to the city Department of Design and Construction, 650 S. King St., Honolulu, HI 96813. Send a copy to the city consultant, Gray, Hong, Bills, Nojima & Associates, 841 Bishop St., Suite 1100, Honolulu, HI 96813-3908.
Up and down Kawa Stream, sections of the banks have been lined with concrete, but not in front of Lee's and many others' homes.
The Kawa Ditch project was planned in 1995, but the city didn't have enough money to complete it, said Carol Costa, city spokeswoman. Its design is being updated.
Lee said the project won't help his situation, but he's glad the city is repairing the ditch.
"It's certainly good to see that the city is moving toward resolution of the erosion problems because I'm just one property owner along a long, winding stream," Lee said. However, he's concerned that lining the stream with concrete would increase the flow of water downstream and could add to erosion.
"Maybe they should start downstream and work their way up," he said.
Costa said the consultants are evaluating the effects of the project on adjacent areas both upstream and downstream and will need to "ensure that the proposed improvements do not create additional problems."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com
