Last month, Hawai‘i experienced its worst flooding in more than 20 years. As heavy rainfalls came shortly after midnight on March 20, it didn’t take long for muddy floodwaters to hit O‘ahu’s North Shore by lifting homes and cars, prompting evacuations for more than 5,000 people in the area.
Then came sunrise, and the water level at the Wahiawā Dam had threatened to breach — coming within 3 feet of overtopping — triggering evacuations for thousands of people living downstream.
“It actually has always been scary because a lot of times the water level would always get pretty high,” said Kalei Gamiao, a fourth-generation North Shore resident whose home is in the evacuation zone of the dam.
But as the state moves closer to acquiring the aging more than 120-year-old earthen dam, there are conflicting feelings from longtime North residents and farmers.
On one hand, there is a heightened public safety risk because of the threat the dam poses to more than 2,000 North Shore residents who live in the evacuation zone of the dam’s path. On the other hand, state leaders have said the dam is important to local agriculture.
Water from the Wahiawā Reservoir feeds 9,000 acres of farmland like Mohala Farms in Waialua. That's where Native Hawaiian farmer Daniel Rodriquez works.
While he said he understands the benefits the Wahiawā Dam provides to farmers, he has mixed feelings as it is a painful reminder of Hawai‘i's sugarcane plantation era.
“Personally, there's a great deal of emotional trauma that stems from my ancestors' days,” he said. “I can feel directly from my ancestors prior to the dam's construction, and the waters were flowing freely, but still had to deal with eminent domain through the occupancy."
He said if it can't be decommissioned then “just have appropriate water rights be disseminated through the flow of it down stream.”
Most of Hawai‘i’s dams are relics of the plantation era. The Wahiawā Dam was built in 1906 for the sole purpose of delivering water to plantations rather than for flood control.
Dole Food Co. partially owns the dam. It has been fined in the past for failing to address safety concerns, such as having an undersized spillway and embankment stability issues.
Now, the state is getting closer to finalizing a long process to acquire the dam and the irrigation system, racing against a June 30 deadline required by Act 218.
Hawai‘i has more than 100 state-regulated dams. Most are deemed high hazard, meaning if the structure were to fail, it would cause significant property damage and even loss of human life.
Community members have raised concerns at past state board meetings about the dam potentially overtopping due to increasing storms.
Waialua resident Corey Shaffer testified at last month’s Board of Land and Natural Resources meeting. He lives in the evacuation zone of the dam.
“This is one of the most dangerous dams in the entire United States considering the number of people who are in the floodplain,” he said. "And I think if you just … do a statistical analysis on the rain gauges, we have come so close so many times in the past several years that frequency is increasing.”
North Shore resident Sean Cervone said he noticed that the water levels went above levels that were concerning.
“If it's really a risk where this (dam) could break and then flood out and destroy all these people's homes — get rid of the dam, cover it up and build a big wall,” he said.
Farmers who use water from the Wahiawā Dam said it is significantly cheaper than other sources.
Daniel Carrol is the owner of Hua Orchards, where he grows avocados and citrus. He said water from the dam is a tenth of the price compared to other water sources.
“Water in Hawai‘i is typically measured in units of 1,000 gallons,” he said. "The cheapest I’ve seen is 50 cents or slightly lower to $1 a gallon.”
Carrol said if the dam were to be removed, then there would be no access to reliable and affordable water for agriculture.
He also said that he would be more concerned about the state taking over the dam than Dole.
“I would hope there would be some transfer of not just the infrastructure, but also the knowledge and the management of how to do what they've been doing,” he said.
Currently, the executive director of the state Agribusiness Development Corporation is negotiating with Dole Food Company on the transfer of the dam and irrigation system. The ADC board will then meet to vote on a final agreement.
Hawaiʻi Public Radio exists to serve all of Hawai’i, and it’s the people of Hawai’i who keep us independent and strong. Donate today. Mahalo for your support.
