WAILUA — Lydgate Park needs help, again.

John Lydgate, grandson of the park’s namesake, said he feels like the boy crying “Wolf!” every time heavy rains hit the islands and clogs the popular Morgan’s Pond swimming area with debris.

He is planning a beach cleanup this Saturday from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. to get rid of the accumulation of wood and debris that washed in from the storm that passed north of the islands last week.

A large swell, combined with runoff from the Wailua River and brisk trades from the northeast associated with the passage of Felicia last week generated the debris buildup in the popular swimming area at Lydgate Park.

Lydgate is hopeful the passage of weakening Tropical Storm Guillermo will be completed by the Saturday cleanup and volunteers, headed by the Friends of Lydgate Park, will just have to clean the beaches once.

“The weather and conditions are clearing, marginally,” Lydgate said. “Hopefully, everything will be settled by the weekend, and with everyone’s help, the beach will be clear and available for use again.”

“The volunteers did a really good job the last time around, but then, the storm brought new rubbish in,” said one of the Lydgate Park tower water safety officers kept busy advising visitors of the beach closure.

The lifeguards said the Department of Health has been monitoring water samples daily and the bacterial count is still high despite the clearing of the water since the weekend storm.

A sampling of water by the Surfrider Foundation conducted Saturday revealed Wailua swimming areas to have the second highest bacterial count of 16 tested sites around the island.

Lydgate said because of the large amount of debris generated by the storms, he is hopeful the county can offer help through the use of some heavy equipment that can make short work of the piles created by the volunteers.

“It’s more debris than the one roll-off can handle,” Lydgate said. “We don’t want another pregnant dumpster.”

He added that-long term plans for Lydgate Park call for a dredging of the popular Morgan’s Pond to coincide with the Spring Equinox when workers can take advantage of the lowest tides of the year to excavate sand and rocks from the protective wall that have, over the years, fallen into the swimming area.

“That should help,” Lydgate said. “But it won’t eliminate the problem of debris coming in every time a storm passes.”

Lydgate said volunteers coming to help Saturday can expect to get some coffee from the Starbucks shop located in Borders Books and Music.

“This is a classic case of community coming together,” Lydgate said. “And after it’s all done, I’m heading to the Kaua‘i Historical Society backyard music jam at Smith’s. That is the perfect way to end the day.”

This weekend is a three-day weekend for state and county workers as Hawai‘i celebrates the 50th anniversary of statehood, the Admission Day holiday falling on Friday.

But National Weather Service advisories threaten beach activities with the passage of Tropical Storm Guillermo to the north of the Islands.

Large surf along east-facing shores are expected through today, the NWS states in a high surf advisory issued Tuesday morning. That swell is expected to build rapidly along exposed windward shores and hold through today.

A high surf advisory means that waves along the affected shores will be higher than normal and beachgoers are urged to stay out of the water and well away from the shore break due to hazardous wave action and the potential for strong rip currents.

The surf was expected to build to 6 to 10 feet Tuesday and persist through today, keeping the advisory in effect until 6 p.m.

A flash flood watch issued by the NWS joins the surf advisory and remains in effect through this afternoon.

An upper level low is causing instability over the west end of the state resulting in locally heavy showers and isolated thunderstorms.

• Dennis Fujimoto, photographer and staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 253) or dfujimoto@kauaipubco.com.