The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the City and County of Honolulu are hosting a virtual public meeting Monday evening at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the latest study surrounding the Ala Wai Canal flood risk management project.
The meeting allows the Army Corps to take a step back to get a fresh look at the Ala Wai's flooding problems, said Eric Merriam, the project lead with USACE.
There will be a presentation of USACE's Ala Wai watershed flood risk management re-evaluation study, featuring updated tools such as hydrologic and hydraulic modeling. It will also highlight the issues with the original study.
"The original feasibility study did not require or incorporate non-structural measures. So things like the elevation of homes, or flood-proofing of businesses," Merriam said.
The Army Corps has also created a new website to make it easier for residents to see proposed plans and provide comments.
This is the latest study in a years-long effort to address the risk of major flooding throughout the Ala Wai watershed. The Army Corps estimates a hundred-year storm would cause more than a billion dollars worth of damage in Waikīkī.
The project originally proposed the construction of detention basins along the canal and in neighborhoods upstream from the waterway.
Some residents voiced their opposition to the proposal, fearing the possibility of forcing homeowners off their property for the structures.
There were also concerns about the size of the structures, and how it would impact resident views and recreational activities. Earlier iterations of the plan included 14-foot walls along the canal.
"The team is actively looking into how we can minimize those visual impacts, whether it be improvements to the aesthetics of the floodwall, incorporation of a walking path behind the flood wall, and so forth," Merriam said.
Merriam told HPR that the agency spent the past two years going back to the drawing board. He said the project team reviewed more than 200 options to address flooding in the watershed and narrowed it down to six plans last December. Those alternatives and the agency's revised study will be presented at Monday's meeting.
"We spent a lot of work, and we had a lot of meetings working towards what we call 'scoping' — where the community helps us identify the problems and the opportunities," he said.
The meeting is also intended to create what the agency calls a "tentatively selected plan," which is a recommendation draft for a final report.
Merriam expects the draft report might be released for public review sometime in June or July.
The final cost of the project has yet to be determined. The Army Corps of Engineers will have to make a new request to Congress for funding support.
However, original estimates put the project around $345 million. As of January 2021, costs had reportedly doubled to $651 million.
In the meantime, notices to file an environmental impact statement have been filed with federal and state agencies. They are open for public comment until May 8.
More information about the project can be found at honolulu.gov/alawai.
To access the meeting on April 24, click here and use access code 1992 62 9020.
