Updated at 7:19 a.m., Tuesday, January 8, 2008
$40,000 released for Hawaii flood-frequency estimates
Advertiser Staff
Governor Linda Lingle released $40,000 yesterday to fund the 2008 portion of a multiyear study that the state Department of Transportation is conducting in cooperation with the United States Department of the Interior's Geological Survey, to analyze and estimate stream water discharges over time in Hawai'i.As part of this project, rainfall data is being used to forecast flood magnitudes and frequencies for locations along streams, with a focus on where streams intersect with highways, a news release from the governor's office said. Data collected from the cooperative study, which began in February 2002 and will end in September 2009, will be used by the DOT for the safe and efficient design of roads, bridges, drainage improvements and other flood-control projects.
Flood-frequency estimates were last completed more than 30 years ago on Kaua'i and the Big Island and 13 years ago on O'ahu. They have never been developed for Maui.
DOT and USGS have agreed to contribute $223,394 and $156,606, respectively, for the $380,000 study, the news release said.
