Path closed for repairs

LIHU‘E — County workers are making moves to clean up Lydgate Park after recent rains caused sewage spills and added runoff to increasing coastal erosion problems in the area, triggering major instabilities in the walking path that goes through the park.

Permits are currently required for visitors to enter any county parks due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and residents are only allowed to use parks for exercising. But, the portion of Lydgate that’s impacted by coastal erosion and sewage spills is closed.

County Department of Parks &Recreation Deputy Director Wallace Rezentes Jr. is working with agencies like the Planning Department and Department of Public Works Wastewater Management Division to address the multiple issues.

“The sections of the path that have been undermined (the path fronting the Kaha Lani Resort area) are currently closed for safety concerns,” Rezentes said. “Our intention is to take appropriate corrective repair measures and reopen the path.”

It’s a story that’s on repeat in several areas along the Eastside walking path. The shoreline is creeping closer and closer to the popular multiuse path. DOPR has already had to address erosion issues on the path in the Kapa‘a Beach Park area, for example.

And it’s not just happening along the Eastside.

According to Kaua‘i coastal geologist Chuck Blay, who has been surveying Westside beaches for years, coastlines change and sand is redistributed along beaches and shorelines thanks to natural currents. It’s also an indicator of sea-level rise.

“As sea level rises, the shoreline will naturally move landward. If not enough sand, the sand will move to another area. The shoreline will move landward, and it takes the beach with it or the sand, and sometimes leaves the beach with a rocky shore land,” said Blay.

Since this is a recurring issue in many places around the island, DOPR is considering the option of moving the path and rebuilding further inland. No decisions have been made on moving the path yet.

Sewage is also a problem at Lydgate, and Jason Kagimoto, chief of the county Wastewater Management Division, says at this time the public is advised to keep out of the ocean from Morgan’s Pond to the Bynum Bridge at Kamalani Kai.

“The Wastewater Management Division is coordinating with the Department of Health,” Kagimoto said. “Additionally, the area at Lydgate Park, which includes Kamalani Playground, is closed to the public.”

According to Kagimoto, the plan is to allow the wastewater and storm water to percolate into the ground and to evaporate. Ultraviolet rays from the sunlight will disinfect the area. The wastewater spill at Lydgate Park did not enter the ocean. The incoming flows to the Wailua Wastewater Treatment Plant, as a result of a mid-March storm, were much higher than normal, and overwhelmed they hydraulic capacity of the WWTP.

“Since the permitted ocean outfall was being used, we coordinated with the Department of Health and agreed that it was best to close the beach from Morgan’s Pond to Kamalani Bridge because, in addition to the Wailua WWTP receiving more wastewater than it was designed to receive, the flooding in the area resulted in a brown-water advisory,” said Kagimoto.

With big rains lately, it has taken the county a little longer than normal to fix the wastewater issues, Kagimoto said, because sunlight is needed to disinfect the area.

“Blue skies and sunny days will speed this process up. We have been inundated with very intense storms recently, as can be noticed by the amount of flow being discharged from Wailua River, the debris at Wailua bridge and the ditches along the highway in the vicinity of the Wailua Golf Course,” said Kagimoto.

He continued: “Infiltration and inflow occur during storms and adds to the flow rates sent to the Wailua WWTP. If the flow rates exceed the hydraulic capacity of the WWTP, we are unable to prevent a wastewater spill from occurring.

“Our operators, mechanics and line crew have done a tremendous job during this rough stretch of weather,” he said. “They were able to minimize the volume of wastewater spilled and the time it took for the Wailua WWTP to recover to normal operating conditions. We also appreciate the coordination and guidance provided by the DOH to inform and protect our community.”

Dr. Robert Zelkovsky of Wailua Homesteads frequents Lydgate Park, and said he’s concerned about the conditions there.

“Besides being a very dangerous, sudden, unmarked drop-off, the erosion threatens the continuity of the path,” said Zelkovsky. “Although not as heavily used for the past month, there needs to be a barricade and other warning devices.”

He continued: “Also, to have two sewage spills in a month and three in several months is a public-health hazard and is unacceptable.”

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Stephanie Shinno, features and community reporter, can be reached at 245-0424 or sshinno@thegardenisland.com.