Updated at 2:02 p.m., Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Construction site runoff clouds Ala Wai Canal briefly
Advertiser Staff
A Honolulu Fire Department hazardous materials team and Coast Guard investigators have concluded that the discoloration of the water in the Ala Wai Canal this morning resulted from a construction site being hosed down.At first, emergency responders described the incident as an apparent fuel spill and said there was a sheen on the water.
The problem was reported about 10 a.m.
By that time, a white substance had spread from the harbor to the area of the Ala Wai Canal beneath the Kalakaua Bridge.
Fire Cpt. Frank Johnson said investigators eventually tracked the problem back to a construction site.
Construction workers hosed the site down and the runoff water ran into a storm drain and then into the canal, Johnson said.
He said the cloudy water "dissipated quickly and was deemed not to be a threat."
