Despite months of dredging work to reopen the Pohoiki Boat Ramp, the entrance channel has again filled with volcanic debris and sand, state officials have confirmed.
“The Department of Land and Natural Resources is aware that the recently dredged Pohoiki Boat Ramp entrance channel has filled in with volcanic debris due to tidal conditions during the past week,” Andrew Laurence, the department’s communications director, told the Hawaii Tribune-Herald this week. “We acknowledge the community’s disappointment. We are terribly disappointed too.”
Several residents expressed frustration on social media, criticizing the project’s cost, questioning the contractor’s accountability, and suggesting the state mismanaged funds intended for the boat ramp.
The ramp, a vital launch site for Puna fishers and ocean users, was cut off from the ocean by material from the 2018 Kilauea eruption. After years of planning, dredging began earlier this year under a $5.4 million project to remove at least 42,000 cubic yards of black sand, rocks and boulders.
In June, DLNR officials said the work could finish ahead of schedule. At the time, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation engineer Finn McCall said he was “astounded by the progress” crews from contractor Goodfellow Bros. had made.
But despite the rapid progress, tidal conditions quickly refilled the channel. Laurence said the state, county and community recognized the dredging effort had limitations but agreed it was important “to do something rather than nothing.”
According to the project’s final environmental assessment, DLNR evaluated several options for reopening the ramp. Building protective breakwaters or removing most of the volcanic debris would have cost between $40 million and $46 million. The dredging alternative, known as Option 2, was the only approach with available funding.
“Unfortunately, nature proved more than a match for this solution,” Laurence said. “The department is currently examining the site conditions and evaluating options for long-term solutions. We thank the community for their patience and understanding.”
In a written statement, Mayor Kimo Alameda said he shares “the community’s frustration with the results of the dredging project at Pohoiki.”
“In response, we are working with state officials to get a better understanding of their next steps and plans for the boat ramp,” Alameda said. “Isaac Hale Beach Park remains closed for the time being, and we will provide an update to the public as soon as it is available.”
State Rep. Greggor Ilagan of Puna, who helped secure funding for the dredging project, warned that additional spending to clear the channel again is unlikely.
“Putting more money into re-dredging the channel is going to be more throwing money into the ocean,” Ilagan told the Tribune-Herald on Wednesday. He said budget constraints limited the state’s options, leaving dredging as the only feasible choice.
“We didn’t have the money for a long-term solution, so we went with the only option that we had, which was to dredge it out,” he said.
With the channel now unusable for boaters, Ilagan said his immediate concern is assessing safety risks for the community.
“Now that we know that the channel has collapsed and is no longer operable for boaters, we want to figure out safety for the community and figure out what that looks like,” he said.
Looking ahead, Ilagan said the best long-term approach involves constructing protective jetties.
“For the long-term solution, I believe that having the two jetties is going to be the solution to move forward on,” he said.
Addressing criticism circulating on social media about the project’s management, Ilagan emphasized the contractor followed state-engineered plans.
“There’s a lot of comments about misuse of funds and corruption, and the engineers don’t know what they’re doing, and the contractor just took the money and left,” he said. “I want to point out that the contractor followed a set of plans that the state engineers developed, and on my side I was able to convince my colleagues to fund this project … unfortunately, we all didn’t see it coming that it was going to be this immediate.”
Ilagan took responsibility for advocating for the project, while noting DLNR’s role in engineering and planning.
“I take full responsibility for this project, because I was the one who convinced my colleagues to fund it,” he said. “And DLNR had the responsibility to come up with the plans and do the environmental assessment and come up with the engineering behind it all, and then the contractor executed those plans.”
Reflecting on the outcome, Ilagan said he had hoped the dredging would be a success but acknowledged nature had other plans.
“I was hoping that this was going to be successful this year, and it was going to be quite an accolade. But here we are,” he said.
Earlier this week, Division of Aquatic Resources staff and community volunteers rescued a spotted eagle ray that had become trapped by the tides in the pond at Pohoiki.
When crews returned to the site Tuesday, they found several dead and live fish in the same isolated pond area. Most of the day was spent collecting dead akule, which were later buried or taken for fertilizer, while an awa and six juvenile miko were captured and released back into the ocean.
Staff also reported seeing other species, including moi, awa, to‘au, manini and kanda mullet.
DAR used barrier nets, scoop nets and the traditional paipai method during both operations. Four DAR employees, a lifeguard, and eight volunteers took part.
The agency emphasized that the fish entrapment resulted from tidal conditions, not the boat ramp dredging.
Source: The Garden Island
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