Posted at 2:48 p.m., Thursday, March 16, 2006
Mayor wants Morita Dam torn down
Advertiser Staff
LIHU'E, Kaua'i — Mayor Bryan Baptiste said he expects to order the Morita Dam on Wailapa Stream torn down."Eventually the plan is to open up ... and to undo the reservoir," the mayor said.
The 1920 reservoir's earthen dam was severely damaged Tuesday when an estimated 300 million gallons of floodwater, carrying hundreds of ripped-out trees, coursed over it. The water came from the breaching of the dam of Kaloko Reservoir, which is upstream from Morita.
Both reservoirs were built to provide irrigation water for Kilauea Sugar Company, which closed during the early 1970s.
Baptiste said recovery crews are working to drain the reservoir, to remove the threat that its failure could threaten workers on Kuhio Highway, which is about a quarter mile downstream.
