Maui stream may get flood warning system
By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Maui County Bureau
A consultant is proposing a flash-flood warning system for Kipahulu's Palikea Stream that could be a model for a statewide network.
The system is being considered by the National Park Service for the popular 'Ohe'o Gulch area of Haleakala National Park.
George D. Wilkins of San Diego-based Pacific REMS said he's submitting a proposal this week to install a series of rain gauges, weather stations and water-level sensors that would relay information to a computer with specialized software at the Kipahulu Ranger Station, allowing the operator to see what's happening in the watershed higher up the mountain slopes and to warn visitors if necessary.
Wilkins acknowledged that the system, as proposed, might not have saved the two visitors from Louisville, Ky., who were swept to their deaths by a ferocious flash flood almost a year ago. Schoolteacher Kevin Brown and his 8-year-old daughter, Elizabeth, were farther up the mountain April 10 and it's unlikely anyone from down below could have warned them, he said.
Nevertheless, he said the warning system would help to make the popular stream, known to many as the Seven Pools, a lot safer for visitors.
"The people who visit there are not always thinking it can be dangerous," Wilkins said.
The system would cost an estimated $50,000 to $70,000, he said.
Haleakala Superintendent Don Reeser said the proposal will be reviewed by the National Park Service for feasibility and, if approved, the system will be put out to bid and paid for by fees collected at the park.
Wilkins, a former Hawai'i resident who ran San Diego County's flood-watch network for six years, said the technology is similar to what's being used in San Diego and other locales to monitor potential floods, and it could work on any number of streams statewide.
Barry Hill, assistant district chief with the U.S. Geological Survey's Pacific Islands Office in Honolulu, said officials will be watching to see how the Kipahulu system operates.
Hill is a member of a working group of state and federal officials looking at the possibility of setting up a statewide network to better alert authorities to potential flash floods. The group was formed after recent flash-flood incidents, including the April deaths at Haleakala National Park.
There have been at least 27 deaths in Hawai'i because of flash flooding between 1970 and 2001. Floods and flash floods are the No. 1 weather-related killer in the United States, according to the National Weather Service, with more people dying annually from flash floods than from lightning, tornadoes or hurricanes.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has expressed interest in upgrading its flash-flood warning potential, but so far money has not been available, Hill said.
Wilkins said that if his proposal is financed, the rain gauges, stream-flow sensors and weather stations would be used to collect baseline data about the Kipahulu watershed for six months to a year before any warning system would become effective.
"This is a very challenging site," he said. "We want to make sure it's working correctly."
Wilkins added that the system could even be modified to include sirens that could warn hikers farther up the mountain.
"It's an option for the future. It's worth discussing," he said.
Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880 or thurley@honoluluadvertiser.com.
