USACE holding public scoping meetings for Ala Wai watershed project

Courtesy Photo | The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Honolulu District completed an Engineering Documentation Report Aug. 6 that provides the new recommended plan for the Ala Wai Flood Control Project. The report identifies the current proposed project design changes and new feature recommendations.  

FORT SHAFTER, HI, UNITED STATES

11.06.2020

Story by Dino Buchanan 

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Honolulu District

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Honolulu District, in cooperation with the City and County of Honolulu, will complete a Supplemental Environmental Assessment (SEA) in accordance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA) compliance requirements for the Ala Wai Watershed Flood Risk Management Project.

As part of the assessment process, USACE will be holding four virtual public scoping meetings and engineering forum sessions prior to publication and solicitation of public comment on the Draft EA report.

Meetings are scheduled for: (Hawaii Standard Time)
November 14 - Environmental Impacts scoping meeting, 8-10 a.m.
November 21 - Environmental Impacts scoping meeting, 8-10 a.m.
November 28 - Design and Engineering Forum, 8-11 a.m.
December 5 - Design and Engineering Forum, 8-11 a.m.

The community is invited to participate virtually in these public forums by either logging onto https://usace1.webex.com/meet/jeffrey.a.herzog or dialing into 1-844-800-2712; Access Code: 199 126 8738#; Security Code: 1234#.

Anyone from the community wishing to present project concepts or engineering solutions at the design and engineering forums should contact Jeffrey A. Herzog at [e-mail] or Cindy Acpal at [e-mail] before 4 p.m., Nov. 16, 2020, for a presentation time assignment.

USACE Honolulu District Commander Lt. Col. Eric S. Marshall signed an Engineering Documentation Report (EDR) August 6, 2020 for the Ala Wai project that identifies recommended changes to the system proposed in the 2017 Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). The FEIS was approved through a Record of Decision by the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works on September 18, 2018 and accepted by the Mayor for City and County of Honolulu in the July 23, 2020.

The new plan identified in the EDR incorporates significantly less impacts on the natural streams and residential properties within the watershed and focuses on evacuating the water without detaining it in the upper reaches of the watershed valleys.

The SEA will introduce alternatives to convey flood waters through the Manoa watershed and Ala Wai Canal, and address potential effects associated with redirecting flood waters at Manoa Marketplace. The alternative also includes consolidation of two pump stations into a single pump station at the Ala Wai Golf Course. The EDR proposes eliminating detention basins in the upper watershed.

• Date Taken: 11.06.2020
• Date Posted: 11.09.2020 19:34
• Story ID: 382688
• Location: FORT SHAFTER, HI, US