Kailua waterways cleanup may be coming

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

KAILUA — Ka'elepulu Pond in Enchanted Lake serves as something of a natural air-conditioner for nearby homes. The wind blows across the pond, generating a cooling breeze. But when the water is low and the pond's bottom exposed, that breeze can carry a foul odor.

Issues to be studied by the Advisory Stakeholder Group include litter alongside waterways such as Ka'elepulu Stream. Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser

Now the Kailua Bay Advisory Council is preparing to set priorities for water quality problems and solutions that could lead to cleanup projects in Kailua waterways. Advisory council director Maile Bay said the group is seeking the views of people who hold a stake in the outcome.

"We've long needed a comprehensive plan to look at all the waterways in Kailua as an integrated whole," said Jan Cook, who has led a cleanup of noxious weeds in Ka'elepulu Pond. "It's all one system. What affects one part affects the whole."

That is borne out by reports received by the advisory council.

"Simplistically, all of our technical reports came back and said: Dredge the pond and (re)connect the (broken) waterways to each other," Bay said.

But the council wants to see what the community will propose.

Bay said that before the area was developed, water flowed from Maunawili, through Kawainui Marsh, across the land and out toward the Ka'elepulu pond and stream.

Then people built businesses and homes and tried to prevent flooding. But they ended up creating pools of standing water around them, such as the pond and the canal between Coconut Grove and the marsh.

High bacterial count is among the waterway issues that the stakeholder group will examine. The others are high nutrient concentrations, excessive turbidity and stream-side litter and debris.

The waterways under consideration are Kailua Bay, Kawainui Marsh, Ka'elepulu Pond, and the associated streams and canals.

The Kailua Bay Advisory Council has $3.1 million to put toward the problems. That isn't enough to resolve all problems, but with the priority list the group can seek more money, Bay said.

The council was formed in 1995 as a result of lawsuits filed against the city for wastewater violations. Its goals are to oversee volunteer water quality monitoring, study nonpoint sources of pollution in Kailua, Kane'ohe and Waimanalo, determine how to resolve the problems and oversee any mitigation measures.

Under a contract with the advisory council, Tetra Tech EM Inc., an environmental consulting firm, will compile a list of potential members for the Advisory Stakeholder Group for the Kailua Waterways Improvement Program.

"The project goal is to make sure we can come up with a cleanup plan that the community can accept and support," said Jason Brodersen, project manager. "But my primary emphasis is to ensure the stakeholder group represents the community."

Bob Bourke, a marine biologist who tried to help solve an odor problem in the pond several years ago, said residents familiar with the history of the waterways should get involved. Knowledge and experience that people bring to the table and how well they work together will affect the program's success.

"The science will tell you exactly what the problem is," Bourke said. "How you go about solving it is more in the realm of political and social. That's where the real difficulties are and that is why it's extremely important that a broad sector of the community participates."

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.