Waikīkī brings in about $2 billion a year in revenue, but that cash flow is directly tied to the state’s ability to maintain a viable beach for visitors.
Sea level rise and coastal erosion are making beach maintenance an ever more costly challenge.
Waikīkī’s coastline is a patchwork of small beaches, so there’s no one-size-fits-all solution for dealing with coastal erosion, says Dolan Eversole, the Waikiki Beach management coordinator for the University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Program.
"Each beach is a little different because of all the structures that are built that go out into the water," says Eversole, referring to the many groins and walkways that divide Waikīkīʻs coastal strip.
"Each of those structures defines a separate litoral system. And each of those beaches act different to each other. Some of them are chronically eroding, others are not," Eversole tells HPR.
One beach in bad shape? The Royal Hawaiian, just in front of the iconic pink hotel. Eversole says without intervention, that beach has about a 10-year lifespan.
"And thus the plan for the Royal Hawaiian beach is to renourish, or place sand back on the beach, about every five to 10 years," says Eversole. "So it’s not a one-time fix."
Coastal engineers also built a new groin in front of the Royal Hawaiian to trap sand on the beach. But even that brand new structure has limited use in the face of sea level rise.
"Almost undoubtedly, this structure will be outdated in about 30 years," says Eversole. "The engineers say we're good for like 2030, maybe 2050, depending on which sea level rise scenario we end up with. If we end up with higher sea levels, then it could be sooner."
Listen to Dolan Eversole's full interview that aired on The Conversation on June 1, 2022.
