Posted on: Thursday, November 11, 2004

Waikiki sand replenishment delayed

Advertiser Staff

The state's plan to replenish sand on Waikiki Beach by sucking up sand from offshore beds has been delayed until late January or February 2005.

The $500,000 project, which will bring up about 10,000 cubic yards of offshore sand, has been delayed because of "technical revisions to the project timetable," according to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

The project was expected begin this month and will take 20 to 30 days once it begins. The contract for the work has not been issued.

State officials hope the technology will become affordable and practical enough to be used across the state, as it is on the Mainland.

A barge will be moored about 2,000 feet offshore above a sand bank identified in a University of Hawai'i survey as having plentiful, clean sand. The barge will be equipped with a hydraulic sand dredge and connected to a submerged pipeline system to the beach.

The pumped sand will be allowed to dry; then heavy equipment will push it where sand is needed on Kuhio Beach.

A group of surfers and residents who attended a Sept. 1 public meeting asked that the state conduct more tests to follow the movement of sand before beginning, and a test of ocean currents in the area was conducted later that month.