KailuaBay.org - Preserving the Beauty of Kailua

Kaneohe Ranch and Coluccio Construction Co. have been ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to restore wetlands in Kailua that had been filled as part of ongoing sewer repairs.

In 2002, Coluccio, under contract by the City and County of Honolulu to repair sewers in Kailua, received permission from landowner Kaneohe Ranch to use an area near Hamakua Stream to store and maintain its equipment. While working on the project, Coluccio removed mangroves from the wetlands and stockpiled excavated soil and rock in the area, according to the EPA.

Last year, following complaints from nearby residents, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inspected the site. Further investigation by the EPA and Hawaii Department of Health officials noted the stockpiles. A follow-up in November showed that the rock piles and soil had been removed but compacted fill material, soil and gravel were still present on the site.

State and federal environmental standards require Coluccio and/or Kaneohe Ranch to obtain a permit from the Corps of Engineers for such discharge of dredged or fill material in the Kaelepulu-Hamakua-Kawainui wetlands, a habitat for endangered birds. The EPA wants both companies to work on remedial measures including:

• Stopping further discharges of fill material into the Hamakua stream and wetlands.
• Submitting a removal plan within 45 days.
• Monitoring site restoration and evaluating its success.
• Submitting annual reports from 2007 to 2011.

Reprinted from Pacific Business News

Posted by Online Editor at 6:40 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The state health chief opposes calls for more tests, as no standards have been established

By Mary Vorsino mvorsino@starbulletin.com

Sand at Kailua Beach has higher levels of fecal indicator bacteria than Ala Moana Beach and two spots in Waikiki, but none of the counts appear to pose a health risk, according to an Oahu environmental group.

Healthy Hawaii Coalition took the sand tests Thursday, citing public concerns over beach safety following the recent sewage main breaks in Waikiki that sent more than 50 million gallons of waste water into the Ala Wai Canal.

"It seems some of the areas are cleaner than what a lot of us worried they would be, especially in the Waikiki area," coalition official Tulsi Gabbard Tamayo said yesterday in announcing the results. "The area that we are still concerned about is Kailua Beach, which has higher bacteria levels."

During the recent heavy rain, waste-water spills occurred along the Windward Oahu coast.

The group found that sand at Kailua Beach had 24 "colony-forming units" of enterococcus per 100 grams, and 60 colonies of Clostridium perfringens in the same sample.

Waikiki Beach near Duke's Restaurant had 46 colonies of clostridium, while Ala Moana Beach had 16. The beach fronting Hilton Hawaiian Village had negligible amounts of bacteria.

Gabbard Tamayo said she hopes the results spur the state to consider regular sand testing after sewage spills. "People have a right to know whether our beaches are clean," she said.

But Dr. Chiyome Fukino, the state Health Department's director, said the tests are worthless because there are no bacteria-level standards for sand. The state also does not test sand and so does not have historical counts.

"You don't just throw these things together like you're baking a cake," Fukino said. "It doesn't mean a whole lot."

Meanwhile, a House panel passed a resolution yesterday asking the state Health Department to conduct sand testing where warning signs were posted following the Ala Wai spill.

"We're erring on the side of caution, and we're going to ask them to do some scientific analyses of the sand," state House Health Committee Vice Chairman Josh Green said.

"We all know there is bacteria in the sand. The question is, Because of the new problems with the flooding and the sewage break, do we have extra problems?"

Lawmakers provided no funds to cover the testing, but told health officials they could return to ask for an allocation.

Fukino said she is not sure how the department will meet the resolution's requirements, with funding so tight and current staffing already stretched. She also said meaningful tests would require a standard correlated with human illness. "We would have to design a study," she said.

Earlier this year -- before the heavy rain and sewage spills that plagued February and March -- a trio of eighth-graders at Our Redeemer Lutheran School took sand samples at four Oahu beaches to test for bacteria counts.

With help from Diagnostic Laboratory Services, they found that Kailua Beach had higher bacteria counts than Waimea Bay, Waikiki and Ko Olina, which came in second. Waikiki was third, and Waimea Bay had almost no bacteria. They also found that bacteria counts were higher farther from shore. The highest levels were measured 30 steps from the shoreline.

"On the news, I heard the state isn't really doing that much with the sand. They're mostly concerned with the water," said 13-year-old Cathy Yong yesterday.

________________________________________
Reprinted from the StarBulletin.com
Star-Bulletin reporter B.J. Reyes contributed to this report.

Posted by Online Editor at 11:43 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

John Stallings of OurKailuaTown.com has organized a Beach Clean for this Saturday, April the 22nd from 8 AM to 10:30 AM.

Details can be found here.

Please come out and help remove some of the debris that is littering our beautiful beach!

Posted by Online Editor at 11:44 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

KAILUA — Bob Perry and his family looked without success for a clean beach to swim at for most of the six days they were in Hawai'i.

Yesterday was no different. They thought Kailua Beach would be safe. No signs were posted warning of contaminated water from sewage spills, but they didn't count on Ka'elepulu Stream.

The stream, which flows into the ocean, still had posted warning signs until later yesterday, when they were removed by the state Department of Health.

"It's our last day here and we haven't been in the ocean yet," said Perry, of Riverside, Calif. "It sure looked like a nice beach out here, until I saw the signs on the stream."

Even though the signs have been removed where the family was staying at the Hilton Hawaiian Village, Perry was concerned that there might be a risk.

With some beaches still closed and others just recently opened, how is someone to know if the water is safe?

After six weeks of rain, beaches around the island were closed when bacteria levels soared from storm-water runoff and sewage spills. In Waikiki, more than 48 million gallons of raw sewage poured into the Ala Wai Canal beginning March 24 after a sewer main break on Kai'olu Street. In Kailua, about 10 million gallons of raw sewage poured into the ocean in March.

One man died from organ failure when his body went into septic shock after he was infected with bacteria, possibly from a fall into the contaminated Ala Wai Boat Harbor.

While warning signs have been removed from some beaches, they remain closed in Waikiki and Kane'ohe.

Even when the signs are removed, the Department of Health won't guarantee that the water is free of bacteria, said Janice Okubo, DOH spokeswoman. Even under normal circumstances, the water could still infect someone with a compromised immune system or an open wound, Okubo said.

"There's bacteria everywhere," Okubo said. "People can get sick from the ocean at any time. It doesn't have to have a sewage spill. There's always bacteria in the ocean."

With all the contamination, some beachgoers have been leery about taking a dip in the ocean.

But at Kailua Beach yesterday, most local residents — those regulars who either surf or paddle in the ocean — didn't have qualms about going in, despite warning signs posted along Ka'elepulu Stream. Visitors, especially those with children, however, stayed out of the water.

One family, from Orange County, Calif., left Kailua Beach to look for another where they would feel that their three children could swim safely.

Before leaving their Waikiki hotel room, Tammy Nguyen had searched the Internet for information indicating which beaches were safe. She even asked the front desk at her hotel.

"I don't want to take a chance," Nguyen said as she decided to leave. "We'll go to Ko Olina. We don't want to take a chance."

Alika Cavaco, a Kailua surfer, said he's not concerned about the water. Two weeks ago, he was, but not now.

"When the water went blue, I stopped worrying about it," Cavaco said. "Kailua cleans up really quickly with the sunshine and the trade winds."

Cavaco also noted that a much smaller amount of sewage spilled at Kailua compared to the amount that was diverted into the Ala Wai Canal.

"I won't go in town for a long, long while," he said. "It will take some time before I'm trusting of that water."

Duane Samson, a member of the Kai Oni Canoe Club, said Kailua Beach was perfectly safe for swimming. Even the stream was in better condition than normal because the sand plug at the beach end had been opened and ocean water was mixing with the stream, Samson said.

"The stream is cleaner now than when it's plugged up," Samson said. "I just took a bunch of kids into the ocean from the Boys and Girls Club of Santa Monica (Calif.). Now the water is clean, not like when (the storm runoff and sewage spills happened last month). Then we didn't go in."

The confusion about when it's safe to go in the water means it's time to devise a better public reporting method on water bacteria levels, said Jeff Mikulina, executive director of the Sierra Club Hawai'i Chapter.

"We'd like to see a standardized reporting method posted online of the water quality from both the city and the state," Mikulina said. "We have a surf report; we should also have a poop report. We're pushing for this and next month you'll see more discussion on how to improve the reporting methods."

"Is it safe to go in the water?" Mikulina said. "That's the million-dollar question. Personally, it will take me awhile before I go to the townside beaches. We know our sewer system is falling apart below ground. There's reason for concern."

Reprinted from the Honolulu Advertiser
By Reach Suzanne Roig
Reach Suzanne Roig at sroig@honoluluadvertiser.com.

Posted by Online Editor at 11:47 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post   

The Coastal Society of Hawaii Presents:Can We Save Hawaii’s Beaches?

Come join the discussion on Thursday

Purpose: to create an interdisciplinary think tank that attempts to answer this question through an interrogative approach with audience and panelist participation.

Date: April 20, 2006 (Thursday)

Time: 4:00-6:00 p.m. (followed by pupus and drinks until 7:00 p.m.)

Location: Hawaii Capitol Auditorium, Chamber Level

*Take TheBus Line 4 or parking is available at the State Capitol underground parking garage (accessible via Miller Street off of Punchbowl Street).

The Coastal Society of Hawaii is presenting a forum entitled: “Shifting Shorelines: Strategizing a Future for Hawaii's Coasts"

Mark your calendar and join us for this very important forum. We will be discussing the topic of coastal erosion in Hawaii, the fate of our coastlines, and formulating solutions to be pursued by legislation. The topic will first be presented by panelists John Gutrich, Chip Fletcher, Denis Hwang, Thomas Smith, and Sam Lemmo specialists from the fields of Ecological Economics, Coastal Geology, Land Use Law, Coastal Engineering, and Coastal Management. Presentations will be followed by a comment and discussion period. Audience participation and insight for solutions to this complex and multifaceted problem is encouraged!

If you live in Hawaii and are concerned with issues such as Public Access, Beach Loss, and Development along the coast, then please come on down to the Capitol Building April 20th.

The Coastal Society of Hawaii is comprised a diverse group of Hawaii residents involved and concerned with important coastal issues. Our mission is to bring together students, surfers, beach users, researchers, legislators and professionals from all disciplines to address coastal conservation and developmental issues. Through structured forums, weekly e-newsletters, field trips, and mentor programs we aim at increasing communication and integrating problem solving between the many individuals and organizations facing coastal challenges.

Panelists:

CHARLES (CHIP) FLETCHER, Ph.D., is Chairperson and Professor in the Department of Geology & Geophysics in the School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST) at the University of Hawaii at Manoa. He conducts research in beach sedimentology and c! oastal hazards and is known for his service to government agencies and public groups.

JOHN GUTRICH, Ph.D., is an ecological economist and Assistant Professor of Environmental Science at Hawaii Pacific University. His research efforts include the valuation of non-market ecosystem goods and services, restoration wetland ecology, ecological risks of marine GMOs and efficient economic solutions to the environmental regulation of rivers.

DENNIS HWANG, JD, is with the law office of Reinwald O'Connor & Playdon, LLP. He is the author of the Hawaii Coastal Hazard Mitigation Guidebook, and is helping to write similar books for Indonesia and Lousiana. He has a Master of Science in geology & geophysics from the University of Hawaii and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Houston.

SAM LEMMO, MURP, is Administrator of the Department of Land and Natural Resources Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands. He has been active in developing legislation to create a special fund to restore beaches in Hawaii and is currently developing a comprehensive integrated shoreline policy to improve coastal land use decisions.

THOMAS D. SMITH, P.E., is the senior coastal engineer at the Honolulu District of US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) who focuses on shore protection and navigation projects. He received a Master of Ocean Engineering degree from Texas A&M in 1994 in association with the USACE Coastal Engineering Education Program.

Facilitator:

KEM LOWRY, Ph.D., is Professor in the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawaii at Manoa. In the 1970’s he led university planners that assisted in the development of the Hawaii Coastal Zone Management Program. That experience led to his participation on several coastal management projects under the auspices in of the United Nations Development Program and the University of Rhode Island Coastal Resources Center in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines.

TCSH is an organization of private sector, academic, government professionals and students dedicated to actively addressing emerging coastal issues by fostering dialogue, forging partnerships, and promoting communication and! education. We seek to inspire coastal stewardship and provide a bridge between the academic, government and professional communities on our islands. For more information please contact India Cark at: 808-956-8949 or tcs@hawaii.edu

Visit the "OahuSurfriderFoundation" on the web.

Posted by Online Editor at 11:49 PM | Permalink | Comments | links to this post