When Waialae Stream was overflowing its banks and flooding the beach park early Saturday morning, I phoned friends who live nearby to warn them of the rising water in the stream that could eventually cause problems for them. They knew from past experience that flooding usually occurs when sand has built up and blocks the stream from flowing directly into the ocean.
They later sent this message.
Thanks for calling this morning. We ended up calling the Dept of Emergency Management and they were closed. So we called 911 which insisted that we choose Fire Police or Ambulance. I said flood and she insisted, so I said police. Police said it wasn’t something they could help with and suggested fire. So I talked to fire and they were nice but said they would call Dept of Emergency Management. Well meaning but not really helpful.
By then the level had stopped rising, but I would really like to know exactly whom we should have called. Do you have any ideas?
I’m at a loss. Any suggestions?
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Go straight to the agency that operates the equipment to open the blockage. Same as Wailua River on Kauai – we didn’t have the cell numbers to Public Works, so I suggested people call KPD dispatch with a request to contact DPW Engineer and/or KEMA. You can bet Monday morning a phone tree will be established for emergency contacts.
Mike
Contact the Mayor and the Governors office for an answer. The response your friend receive was totally unacceptable but so typical of Hawaii.
You can’t allow them to pass the buck to nowhere AND make you do the work with no satisfaction. Tell the police or fire department or whoever is the last department you call trying to be helpful, and then just say no, I’m telling you about the flooding and I’m hanging up, it’s now on you.
Call 311:
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The stream is probably City jurisdiction. Visit this website: https://www8.honolulu.gov/swq/info-resources/streams/
The mouth where the sandbar builds up could be State jurisdiction — not sure. If it’s City jurisdiction, maybe you could ask your council member to look into getting the sandbar area dredged out on a regular schedule. It won’t help flooding from debris accumulation further upstream, but will at least allow water to flow.
Knee jerk reactions to a recurring issue. Every year we enter the wet season. What if those affected would walk the stream and alert officials to potential problems, so those officials can resolve drainage issues. Then if the officials do not take action, it’s on them. At some point we have to be responsible for our own safety
Bring up at Neighborhood Board meeting??
That would be the Honolulu department of facility maintenance, stormwater quality division. As others have noted, you can request sand removal, vegetation removal etc.
As someone who regularly cleans up the debris mess that flows into the ocean at Kahala – largely coming from people breaking into the Goodwill collection site at the back of Kahala Mall (behind Queens Urgent Care) and dumping what they don’t want into the canal that is right behind it – this is an ongoing problem that has been ignored for too long
That collection site needs to be shut down. But the problem of the canals being used as trash dumps is Island wide! We can throw a million genki balls into the Ala Wai & unless we clean our canals & design a filtering system like they use in Japan – it’s never going to get better. Our oceans don’t deserve this.