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DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES News Release LINDA LINGLE GOVERNOR _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PETER T. YOUNG, CHAIRPERSON
Phone: (808) 587-0401
Fax: (808) 587-0390
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For Immediate Release:
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HONOLULU — The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) today re-started its demonstration sand nourishment project for Kuhio Beach. DLNR’s contractor American Marine Corporation, a local dredging company, has brought in its hydraulic dredge barge into waters off Waikiki where it will anchor about 2,000 feet offshore. DLNR personnel are placing channel marker buoys that will guide placement of an 8-inch pipeline from the barge to the shore. Sand pumping will begin once the suction pump and pipeline are laid in place. It will take approximately two days to set up. Total project timeframe is 20 to 30 days, weather permitting. By Wednesday sand pumping is expected to begin. Up to 10,000 cubic yards of offshore sand will be brought in to replenish the beach at Waikiki. “We believe this is a great opportunity to test new, state-of-the-art offshore sand pumping technologies that can reclaim beach sand that washed into nearshore deposits. We think it is cost-effective to return it onshore to Kuhio beach,” said Peter Young, DLNR chairperson. “This is not introducing new sand, but bringing back the sand that was once there, and that is compatible with the existing sand beach,” Young said. Rather than expand the width of the beach in the two basin areas, the goal will be to “inflate” the beaches by pushing the sand up against the landward sea walls. Over time the sand will fill in the lower portions of the existing beaches, but not expand farther into swimming areas. A staging area has been set up on the beach to receive pumped sand. The project will use heavy machinery during the daytime to help spread out pumped sand for drying at the staging area. This area will be closed to the public for the duration of the project, though the rest of Waikiki beach will remain open Once dry, using backhoes and dump trucks, the sand will be transported to the ‘Ewa basin and to the beach fronting the Duke Kahanamoku statue at night between 6 to 10 p.m. Public access to these areas will be temporarily restricted during these operations. The project requires a 30-day operating window of calm seas, so a fall date was chosen for after the end of summer’s southern swells. The daytime and nighttime operations are planned to operate Mondays through Fridays. Project cost is approximately $500,000, with state funding from the Land Development Fund. For project information and updates, go to the DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands web site at http://www.hawaii.gov/dlnr/occl/waikiki.php
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