LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County workers could begin a sand-replenishment project at Poipu Beach Park as early as October or November to curb erosion and to enhance the recreational assets of the beach, Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste said yesterday. “This beach
LIHU‘E — Kaua‘i County workers could begin a sand-replenishment project at Poipu Beach Park as early as October or November to curb erosion and to enhance the recreational assets of the beach, Mayor Bryan J. Baptiste said yesterday.
“This beach is enjoyed by residents and visitors to Kaua‘i,” Baptiste said during a meeting in his office at the Lihu‘e Civic Center. “Further erosion of this beach would not only have a serious impact on our economy, but would be a terrible loss for the people of Kaua‘i.”
Poipu Beach Park offers surfing, snorkeling swimming and picnicking. The activities have helped Po‘ipu become one of the most desirable resort areas in the state, business folks from that region have said.
Kaua‘i County leaders want to replenish the beach in the fall, when the ocean surf has shifted to the North Shore, and when a permit from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources is anticipated to be awarded to the county, Baptiste said.
County officials have filed for a small-scale, beach-nourishment project permit through the DLNR, and “it will take a few months to get the permit,” Baptiste said.
For the project, 5,000 cubic yards of sand are expected to be placed on the upper reaches of the beach, to allow waves to gently lift the sand back to shoreline areas, Baptiste said.
Once the permit is obtained, county workers will be ready to begin hauling sand to the county beach from the Kekaha Landfill.
Russell Sugano, chief of the field and maintenance division with the Kaua‘i County Department of Public Works, said 30,000 cubic yards of sand were excavated from the Kawaiele sand mines in Kekaha in 2003, and all that is now stocked at the county landfill for use.
The work is to be done during morning hours, when traffic is light, Baptiste said. The work is anticipated to start a week after the state permit is obtained, he added. Several truck loads will be needed to fully replenish the beach, Sugano said.
County officials arranged for a study to be done to determine the effect of the sand replenishment on marine ecosystems and marine organisms, Baptiste said.
The study determined that the project would not create any adverse impacts on the environment, because the sand would be placed only above the high-water line to start.
Sand has not naturally returned to the shoreline in abundance off Poipu Beach Park since Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992.
Large waves gouged the shoreline, and took tons and tons of sand away from the park. A similar situation occurred at nearby Brennecke Beach.
The sand formation at the park was breached by the hurricane, and has not been able to reform itself, Baptiste said.
“While this was not the first time a breach had occurred, it was the first time the recovery had not taken place within several months,” Baptiste said.
Strong currents slowly passed through the area, taking sand westward to shoreline areas fronting the Sheraton Kauai Resort, the mayor said.
Earlier this year, Kaua‘i County Councilman Daryl Kaneshiro, a South Kaua‘i resident, voiced his concerns about the eroding shoreline at the county park, and said he would support efforts by the Baptiste administration to find a solution.
Lester Chang, staff writer, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or lchang@pulitzer.net.
