ALA WAI CANAL PROJECT
To: Project Files
Date: July 7, 2004
NOTES FROM EIS SCOPING MEETING held on June 29, 2004
This memo generally summarizes the Ala Wai Canal Project (AWCP) Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) Scoping Meeting held on Tuesday, June 29th at 6:30 pm at the Hawaii Convention Center Theater 320. Approximately 130 people attended the meeting.
Members of the project team gave a slide show presentation on the general nature of the AWCP as well as on the flood damage reduction and ecosystem restoration concepts they are considering. Additionally, the EIS process and public comment opportunities were described. After the presentation, meeting participants were asked to provide their comments on the project. Verbal comments were as follows:
Renwick “Uncle Joe” Tassill – Concerned Citizen, Ala Wai Watershed Association (AWWA), Tour Industry (leads ahupuaÿa system discussion at HiltonBishop Museum)
§ If we are designing for the 100-year storm, where are we in that 100-year cycle? What is the relationship of the timing of this project with the expected occurrence of the storm? Are there weather patterns/studies to figure this?
§ A: The term 100-year storm refers to the statistical probability that a storm of this magnitude will occur once every 100 years. This does not mean that it will only happen once every 100 years. There is a 1% chance that this large of an event will happen in any given year. The term 25- or 100-year storm also means the magnitude of the storm.
§ This project should be taken down to the children because it will affect them, too.
Raymond Gruntz – Safety Chair, Waikïkï Neighborhood Board
§ How far up the Canal does the salt water travel and mix with the fresh water?
§ A: During high tide, the salt water can go as high as Kaimukï High School.
§ If you flood the golf course, will the salt water kill the grass?
§ A: No, because the diversion to the golf course will be located upstream, above the tidal influence, putting only fresh water onto the course.
§ The project team is invited to the Waikïkï Neighborhood Board to speak about the project.
Clifton Takamura – Möÿiliÿili Neighborhood Board, resident
§ Remembers the 1965 flood and how it flooded Ala Wai Elementary. Does not want children to have to experience the flooding that happened in the past.
§ This project should have been coordinated with the dredging project last year.
§ Wondered why flooding of Hausten Ditch and other streams has not been addressed, and recommended a cross-circulation idea for the Canal to the Corps but did not see that in the presentation.
§ Project should also improve circulation in the streams, including Hausten Ditch.
Bill Tom – Marine Consultant
§ Damming of streams not the answer, removal of trash is the answer. Need to concentrate on trash and sediment upstream, which will reduce pressure on the Ala Wai Canal.
§ In Los Angeles, they have an ‘inverted skateboard ramp’ to collect trash – each city is responsible for collecting trash. Looking at this method to pick up trash and put in a chute would be good.
Petra Fetcher – former resident near the canal
§ Experienced a 100yr flood in Ashland, OR, which has a similar geography to the Ala Wai watershed. Depended on the National Guard for 2-3 weeks, without sanitation and living off of rain barrels.
§ We should all be concerned with the 100-year flood and come together to clean the streams.
Lance Grolla – former City Planner
§ Based on his work experience, he thinks that 30 and 60-day review periods were not long enough. It takes time for people to write, also time to review. Extensions should be given so the community can adequately respond to the project.
§ Create terraced channels/Canals in the upper watershed to catch water. There were terraced taro patches in Hawaiian history.
§ Plant the terraces.
§ Catch rainwater by draining water directly down into the aquifer (a system used in Australia) vs. the impermeable surfaces that we see in the developed areas. Australia uses a piping system to catch water from impervious surfaces that runs directly into the catchment channels and the aquifer. This also prevents flooding.
He complimented the panel on the presentation.
(Tsuchida noted that there may be a problem with runoff from neighborhoods; they may contain contaminants that we do not want to get into the ground water. Lance replied yes, would have to use something like charcoal.)
Steve Kubota – Ahupuaÿa Action Alliance, AWWA, worked on Kaneohe-Kahaluu Stream Restoration and Maintenace Guidebook
§ Make ahupuaÿa the knowledge base for designing restoration. William Kikuchi of Kauai reported on hydraulic infrastructure – heiau, loÿi system, and fish ponds is a graphical image of water systems Hawaiians used. It is a water management system; not a preservation system; i.e., loÿi was irrigation and fishponds were sediment traps. Its features include restoration of the aquatic ecosystem.
§ Recreate landscapes. The National Research Council developed a manual: Restoration of Aquatic Ecosystems, in 1992. It is a formal process that the Federal government is trying to develop. It advocates using historical records, oral histories, GIS, and other tools as a guide for restoration. There is also extensive literature on the subject at the UH libraries.
§ Need to look at history past the construction of the Ala Wai Canal. Utilize information on historic caves. He e-mailed Derek Chow about the 1935 Star-Bulletin article “Romance of the Caves” regarding John Williamson and the historic caves. It documents pre-historic activities relating to limestone caves. There is a wealth of clues that could be used to map the earlier hydraulic landscape. These caves may be used as conveyance for water and as restoration opportunities for their unique organisms, such as blind mullet.
§ Rainwater catchment would cool water and address the bacteria problems.
Yoshimi Endo - Retired
He lived in the Moiliili Quarry area from 1963 to 1971. Flood waters covered the entire lower campus of UH.
§ Tourism is the #1 economy; opposes dikes or barriers that tourists could see.
§ Kaimuki High School could be used as a catch basin instead of an area where tourists can see.
Rick Egged – Waikiki Improvement Association
He complimented the panel and had the following thoughts and concerns:
§ Damage estimates are rather low. Loss of business costs, etc., need to be included in the estimates.
§ The flood is a community problem. It is not just a Waikïkï problem but it affects residents of McCully, Kaimukï, and all surrounding areas.
§ Building walls and widening the Canal should be the last resort. It would negatively impact the community. The panel needs to look at every other option before doing that. Dredging helps and it is preferred to building walls and widening the Canal.
§ Create another method for water to move from the Canal to the ocean, such as a drainage system to flush at Kapahulu end to increase capacity. This would be preferable to walls and/or widening.
(Chow’s response was that we will try to avoid building walls but the situation must be evaluated. The original study in 2001 focused on just dredging or just walls and it determined that flood walls alone would need to be 10 to 13 feet high. However, the purpose of the study was to identify engineering solutions toward getting the Corps involved in the project. The best solution is a combination of all concepts because it would minimize the impacts of each individual action.)
Alan Ewell - Tantalus Association
§ Restoration and flooding are integrated and should not be looked at as separate. Start at the top of the watershed and work down to prevent flood waterfrom even reaching the Canal. There are lots of other options than what has been presented, e.g., green roofs, wetlands throughout the watershed, rainwater catchment for commercial and residential areas. Are these being considered?
§ A: Tsuchida explained that we are looking at concepts such as catchment and wetlands, but we need to determine how much effort is needed to gain any measurable benefit. Chow stated that the Federal Government can’t solve everything, but wants to help jump start the community.
§ Economic, recreational development should all be considered at this stage. Previous proposals included using the Canal for commercial ferries and turning the golf course into a park, which would include wetlands. This team should coordinate with the appropriate State and City agencies to ensure that this project fits into their overall economic development plans for the area.
§ A: Tsuchida explained that we are not considering redesigning the golf course for a park but we are looking at it as a storm water retention basin. We will coordinate with the appropriate agencies to ensure that this project does not conflict with future planned uses.
David Ogura – private citizen
§ Provide a path or pipe on the Diamond Head end of the Canal to help with the conveyance during floods, running offshore instead of affecting nearshore.
§ Consider draining out of both sides. The Canal can be made such that it will only be used in case of a flood.
§ Widen and deepen stream beds to settle out sediments before they get to the Canal. Disposal of sediment will then be easier because it is not contaminated by salt water.
He lives on the Windward side and is experiencing sediment problems in the stream near his home. He has found that the permits and approvals process is time-consuming and suggested that the process should be streamlined. He indicated his frustration and said that while awaiting permits, approvals, and cleaning of the stream, the streambed near his home erodes and continues to get wider.
Patrick Chun – Ala Wai business owner
§ Mr. Chun asked why the Ala Wai Canal had not been completed on the Kapahulu side?
§ A: Frankly, they ran out of funding.
§ Further, besides dredging deeper, what are the benefits of lining with concrete to convey water faster?
§ A: Chow said we are trying to make the project area more natural; however, we cannot get more conveyance through the Canal by just dredging. We want to minimize the use of more concrete.
§ Mr. Chun also noted that in keeping things natural, unless the streams and plantings are maintained properly, they may add to debris that clogs the stream and Canal.
Eric DeCarlo – private citizen
The stream in the Canal has never been dredged to its original depth. Can take core samples to tell what the original depth was. He noted that it is a Canal, not a stream, and by definition, it will never flow down hill, though at the onset, the Kapahulu end was higher.
Most of the sediment comes from the upper watershed. Fifty percent of the sediment load of Pälolo and Mänoa comes from above Waiakeakua. The Canal is a sediment trap; it is perfectly designed. Eighty percent of the sediment comes from the Conservation District; therefore, he believes that anything that is done toward abatement of the problem in the urbanized areas will have no impact on the sedimentation. Nature used to have sediment traps in the upper watershed.
(Chow’s response was that we are looking at the upper watershed system to reduce the amount of sediment and contaminants.
Bourke stated that we need to balance the project such that sediment traps can be put in the upper watershed; we are trying to reinvent ways to capture sediment in the upper areas without negatively impacting the aquatic biology. This may include check dams, but anything bigger runs into hydraulic problems.)
Michael Cain – private citizen; SSRI Environmental Planner
Mr. Cain asked if the bike path in the diagram is an element being considered.
(Tsuchida responded that we would like to improve access on public lands where it is feasible.)
Lauren Roth –private citizen; also with UH Manoa
§ Clean the pollution coming down into the Canal.
§ Need to consciously build settling ponds and constructed wetlands for sediment and remediation issues, so that functional guardians are addressed, not just “restoration”.
§ Need native plants, wetlands features, widening of the banks, gardens that have purpose.
Lorraine Cypher – Waikiki condo owner, originally from the mainland
Ms. Cypher needed contact numbers in regard to suspicious substances in the Canal.
Mr. Takayesu provided numbers for the City Environmental Concern Line – 692-5656 and for the State Department of Health Clean Water Branch – 586-4309.
Chad Durkin – Biologist
Mr. Durkin is doing work in the Ala Wai watershed; he is looking at restoration and “natural engineering.”
§ Restore water quality integrating modern engineering with ancient Hawaiian practices and natural engineering. This technology exists, and need to incorporate this.
§ Maintain the nutrient balance.
§ Control the volume of water in the streams. The goal is to have more water in the streams on a daily basis and control water on a flooding basis.
§ Plan for water re-use. We need to reduce water demand so we can get more water in the stream for native species.
He offered his project for those interested in participating – the Makiki Ecological Demonstration at the Hawaii Nature Center. He is there every Monday, Thursday, and Saturday from 10 a.m.-12 noon.
Sally Moses
We need to be concerned about our environment; we need to do what is pono. Ms. Moses lives in the uplands of Makiki and has seen the water in the stream go down to nothing in a 6-year period.
§ A dry stream is a dangerous stream and will cause damage once a storm hits. Becomes overgrown with weeds.
§ Get the charter and DOE schools involved in the project; turn this into a curriculum-based program; get the youth involved.
§ Take care of the land, there is no other place to go.
Lionel Aono – Chair of Board of Public Golf Courses
There will be problems in using the golf course for drainage retention. After the water is drained, there will be a lot of silt and that will kill the grass for at least a year. The aftermath will result in a bad smell, muck, debris, and health problems. He noted that the West Loch golf course was flooded recently when a small stream overflowed due to a light rain; the course was closed for six months. Have the impacts of storm water on land been explored?
§ Get the water out into the ocean. Storing the water on land will damage the environment.
(Tsuchida responded saying that we will look at those impacts over the next few months.)
Jim Harwood – Mänoa N.B.; AWWA
We need to consider the impacts of rain, wind, hurricane, and tsunami. The walls will hold tsunami back and keep the Canal from draining.
§ Consider how this project will impact the area under these scenarios.
Unnamed female
§ Do not widen the Canal due to recreational impacts. Prefer deepening. The Canal was dredged in 2003; the previous dredging was in 1973. Once in thirty years is not enough.
Wenhao Sun – former UH Researcher, now with private company that is currently involved with the Ala Wai
§ Consider phyto-remediation.
§ Follow the ahupuaÿa concept; restore the back yard. The plant component, e.g., taro, provides lots of functions – takes up nutrients and sedimentation, preventing upstream water from flooding down stream.
Mr. Sun heard a story about the Ala Wai of 20 years ago. It was very clean, marsh land with sea grass and people were able to swim in it.
§ Work with nature.
§ Create a sustainable system.
§ Introduce plants. Introduce sea grass under stream then turn nutrients from pollutants/waste to food for plants; first need to clean up the algae from the water and then introduce the sea grass and establish the system.
§ Grow native plants on a floating platform.
Gerald Takayesu for Helen Nakano – Mälama o Mänoa
Mälama o Mänoa cleans a section of the Mänoa Stream and worked under the Kuleana Project last year. Ms. Nakano is able to get the necessary volunteers and would like help from the government in finding a way to make it easier to adopt stream sections for volunteer groups. Has been trying to do this for the last five years but needs help in cutting the red tape.
Ray Pendleton – recreational boating
Mr. Pendleton reminded the panel that there is a multi-million dollar marina at the end of the Ala Wai Canal and they are usually not included in Ala Wai projects. For example, last year’s dredging stopped at the Ala Moana Bridge. A larger-walled Canal, carrying more water, will damage the marina. The boats in the marina take the brunt of the damage. In the last ten years, during heavy rains, boats were carried away.
Karen AhMai – AWWA.
Ms. Ah Mai cited the importance of Mr. Yoshimi Endo’s statements regarding the UH Quarry and Kaimukï High School where flood waters could be stored.
She talked of Hoÿomaluhia where a huge berm was built. As a result, in the 1965 flood, the Känewai area people had to climb out of their windows.
For emergency storage areas, consider places like the UH quarry, soccer fields, etc.; look at that type of large diversion. If bermed properly, this area could serve as a detention basin, and concerns of this area being flooded are not as high as other areas.
John Wilbur – citizen / paddler
Mr. Wilbur noted that a complete archaeology history of the watershed has not been done.
Regarding chemicals in Oahu’s streams, he asked, “Where do we stand as a state in regard to the Federal Clean Water Act? Are we getting Federal funds because our streams are polluted? Is that why we are trying to clean the watershed area? Are water standards being addressed?”
He felt that this project is a step toward improvement and he appreciates it.
(Tsuchida responded that archaeological and cultural resources studies are currently being done. In regards to the Clean Water Act, while this project cannot solve all of the water quality issues for the state or for this area, we are working to do what we can so together, with other groups and agencies, we can work toward that goal)
Robert Rodman – Waikiki residents association
Mr. Rodman stated that several years ago he wrote to the Department of Land and Natural Resources in regard to flushing fresh water from the Kapahulu groin. In his plan, a one-way valve would flush water into the Canal twice a day with the tides. This could be done without the use of pumps 24 hours a day. The process is to drain out the Canal and bring fresh sea water in. It is a global solution.
There are a large number of pigs in upper Mänoa Valley and that is probably the reason for so much sediment; they are tearing up the forest. Need to look at this part of the problem too.
He is trying to get a grant to automate the cleaning of the debris trap under bridges. The area was not dredged and there is still a lot of sediment under there. If there is a flood, the flood waters would go over the bridge. He further noted that there are large blockages in the Canal.
Lance Grolla
The promenade is the most beautiful, supreme place. He questioned why we would plan to remove 20 feet of it and endanger the root system of the trees. He thinks it would be better to widen the Canal on the Waikïkï side instead.
(Chow responded that there are roadways and utilities involved across the Canal. The promenade side was proposed because of the ease in getting equipment in there and the lesser impacts on utilities.)
Petra Fletcher
Ms. Petra cited the beauty of the Amsterdam Canal as well as the deterioration of canals in Italy and Greece. Bad pollution kept tourists away for years. She feels that we need to talk to the proper people, the baby boomers who are creating the trash, not the children. We need a public education program.
Edgar Akina – from Kalihi
§ Finish the Canal on the Diamond Head side.
§ Do bio-remediation.
§ Increase storm water capacity and get all issues addressed before proceeding with dredging. This project should have been coordinate with the previous dredging.
Mr. Akina stated that it was promised that the dredge material would be taken out to the ocean. He saw the barge; it was tilted and the sediment was spilling into the ocean, all the way to the disposal site. We need a new concept other than ocean disposal; we cannot take pollution from one area and take/spread it to another area.
He feels that we need to lessen the impact to Waikïkï but noted that flooding will still happen, there will still be damage. He questioned if it is worth all of this.
In regard to environmental justice, with a 100-year flood, all islands will be affected. He therefore feels that the flood problems should be addressed throughout all of the islands.
Michelle Matson – Kapiÿolani Park Advisory Council
Ms. Matson noted we need to be aware of historic elements of the Ala Wai Canal, e.g., two historic bridges, banyan, bridal path, trees.
On the east side, there is still part of a drainage area that feeds into Mämala Bay – Kaneloa (by Waikiki Shell). It is working wetland with native plants and animals that needs to be investigated.
Jackie Miller – UH Environmental Center
Ms. Miller asked if the study of the boundaries of the 100-year flood is close to reality at this stage?
(Chow responded that previously, a traditional Corps model was used; they are now using numeric models that provide more exact data. The boundaries are expected to be the same with the new model, but the flood depths will be more accurate.)
Steven Kubota
He feels that we need to develop material for teachers to use in the classrooms. In regard to environmental justice, he noted that there is a high population of low-income and Asian and Pacific Islanders in the affected area. Fifty percent of the students are from non-English speaking homes. Many residents are first generation families where children are the translators to their parents. Need to remember that not everyone speaks English.
Yoshimi Endo
Makiki Stream runs below the H-1 Freeway and with a large flood, it will break through and create impassable conditions. The area between Roosevelt and Stevenson schools will need a bridge.
Ron Lockwood – McCully/Möÿiliÿili Neighborhood Board
In regard to Environmental Justice, there are 16 different ethnic groups in the public schools in his area. Fifty to 70 percent of the students are on the reduced lunch program.
About a year ago their Neighborhood Board set the Ala Wai Canal project as a recurring item on their regular monthly agenda. They meet on every first Thursday of the month. All are welcome to attend to discuss this continuous issue. He suggested that members of the panel could attend as liaisons to take the information back to their agencies.
Once everyone had an opportunity to speak, Bruce Tsuchida thanked participants for attending and voicing their opinions and concerns. He reminded everyone that comment sheets may be filled out and submitted to the project team or mailed in at a later date. Official comments on the EIS Preparation Notice are due onJuly 14, 2004.
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