Ala Wai dredging meeting set

Advertiser Staff

A public meeting to discuss the long-awaited dredging of the Ala Wai Canal will be at 7 p.m. Wednesday at the Hawai'i Convention Center, theater room 320.

The work is expected to begin Aug. 6 and last about 10 months, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources. Equipment will be put in place starting July 30.

The meeting is sponsored by area representatives and will detail plans for the project, including the dredging method and equipment, water quality monitoring, disposal of dredged materials and the schedule for various locations.

The state Department of Health will accept comments at the meeting on a noise variance permit application that could allow dredging 24 hours a day in certain areas.

The contract was awarded last year to American Marine Corp., which submitted a low bid of $7.4 million to remove 170,000 cubic yards of sediment.

The two-mile-long canal was last dredged in 1978 and is now filled with dirt and debris. The canal collects and drains water from Manoa, Palolo, Makiki and surrounding areas. It acts as a catchment basin, trapping sediments and other pollutants. But without ocean circulation, it has slowly filled and in some sections is only inches deep at low tide.

Canoe paddlers must either avoid certain areas or take the chance of hitting bottom while practicing in the canal. The state submitted core samples to the federal Environmental Protection Agency, which has authorized the state's plan to dump the dredged materials about 3.8 miles off Honolulu International Airport. About 1,800 cubic yards of contaminated material will be treated on land.

Kalihi residents have opposed plans to dump the dredged material into the ocean near Sand Island.

For more information, go to the project Web site.