Waters slowly steal Waikiki sand
By Matt Sedensky
Associated Press
Millions of tourists voyage across the Pacific just to spread their beach towel on a patch of Waikiki's warm, inviting sand.
Associated Press
Trouble is, there's not as much of it as there used to be.
Erosion has shortened the beaches and changed wave breaks along Waikiki.
Waikiki's beaches have been eroding an average of a foot a year since 1985, experts say. And as the shoreline shrinks and reefs fill with the sand moving offshore, many say it's time to protect the key asset of Hawai'i's best-known strip.
"The fundamental problem is that we haven't maintained the resource," said Chip Fletcher, a professor of coastal geology at the University of Hawai'i. "If we're going to insist on having a beach there, we've got to keep putting a fresh coat of paint on it."
Waikiki Beach was artificially widened three generations ago in anticipation of a surge in popularity, but officials have done little over the years to maintain its plus-size status.
Now, after years of wrangling, state lawmakers included $700,000 in the state budget to widen Kuhio Beach. But even taking into account an estimated $1 million allocated by the federal government over the past three years, the money will hardly put a dent in the cost of full sand replenishment along Waikiki.
Sam Lemmo, Coastal Lands Program manager with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, says the price is up to $25 million to fix the entire length of Waikiki.
"It's way overdue," said state Rep. Galen Fox, R-23rd (Waikiki, Ala Moana, Kaka'ako). "We very much need sand."
Originally a narrow sandy strip, Waikiki grew from less than 1/2 mile long in 1925 to about 1.5 miles long today, Fletcher said.
Over the years, truckloads of sand were brought in, though rumors are rampant about its origin, from Australia to Moloka'i. Sand importation — common at beaches throughout the world — largely stopped in the early '70s.
And for all the sand brought in, Fletcher estimates that 100,000 cubic yards receded into the Pacific since 1951 — filling in reefs, creating shallower water and changing the way the surf breaks.
"It's very disappointing to see the small amount of sand left," said Robert Finley, chairman of the Waikiki Neighborhood Board, which has lobbied for sand replenishment.
It's likely that few Waikiki sunbathers notice much wrong with the beach or water. But aficionados who have made Waikiki's beaches a part of their life say the area has seen significant changes.
"Waikiki is such a unique spot that when you start to fill the reef contours, the wave takes on a different personality," said George Downing, vice president of Save Our Surf, an advocacy group focusing on coastal issues.
Some small projects aside, little has been done in the past three decades to restore Waikiki's sand volume. After more than 20 years out of the public eye, the issue motivated a number of studies in the early to mid-1990s.
While some money is now set aside for Kuhio Beach and perhaps other sections of the shoreline, no definitive project is on the horizon, and even smaller undertakings are probably years away.
Lemmo said completing environmental impact statements and acquiring permits could delay use of allotted money three or more years.
Still, what concerns many is how the sand eventually will be replenished. Officials could choose to truck it in — the method used before. Or, as many are urging, sand that has receded into the water could be pumped back to the beach.
"We're opposed to them bringing in sand from other venues," Downing said.
"The place to go ... is not to get new sand," said Fletcher. "It's to reclaim the sand that's been lost from the shore."
The sand was lost in the first place because of ocean movements, not overuse. Waves created by the trade winds tend to erode the beach. Summer's large swells bring some sand back in. The end result is a coastline that needs constant maintenance to keep a steady volume of sand.
"Waikiki is a man-made beach," Lemmo said. "If you're going to build something, if you're going to create something, you've got to care for it."
