HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	95
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2011		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE SUPPORT OF THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION, IN CONSULTATION WITH THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES, FOR A STUDY ON REDUCING THE SEWER AND UTILITY LINE LOAD BY REPAIRING AN ARTERY TO ALLOW TRADITIONAL WATER FLOW TO KALAUHA‘IHA‘I FISHPOND AND MAUNALUA BAY.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, Kalauha‘iha‘i was the summer home of King Kamehameha the Great and Queen Ka‘ahumanu; and

 

     WHEREAS, Kalauha‘iha‘i, also known as Lucas Spring, was in continuous use as a functional component of a thriving ecosystem; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 1989, the State Water Commission registered Kalauha‘iha‘i as a fishpond that was home to marine animals such as aholehole (Hawaiian flagtail), ‘opae lolo (aloha prawn),‘ama‘ama (mullet), awa (milkfish), hapawai (brackish water snail), and koi; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the early 1990s, the State's widening of Kalanianaole Highway ruptured the lava tube connecting Kalauha‘iha‘i Fishpond to the underground artesian source directly mauka of the pond that altered spring flow to the ocean, diverted the water to utility line trenches and the sewer, and eventually caused the death of the pond's inhabitants; and

 

     WHEREAS, the loss of the flow of fresh water into Maunalua Bay caused an increase in the temperature and salinity of the bay, thus changing the ecosystem and promoting the growth of invasive algae; and

    

WHEREAS, the return of the fresh water flow at Kalauha‘iha‘i Fishpond would significantly impact the restoration of the ecosystem of Maunalua Bay and mitigate costly water infiltration damage to the sewer and utility lines; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2009, the City and County of Honolulu published a Draft Environmental Assessment that showed Sewer Segment 3, located mauka of Kalauha‘iha‘i Fishpond, was infiltrated by one million gallons of groundwater daily; and

    

     WHEREAS, the City’s $9 million sewer rehabilitation of Kalanianaole Highway has only slightly reduced the infiltration, and the water has found new pathways to infiltrate the sewer near Paiko Drive; and

    

     WHEREAS, without safe routing of the groundwater to its traditional path through Kalauha‘iha‘i Fishpond, the water may continue to cause sewage or utility line damage; and

 

     WHEREAS, new and unsafe water paths may undermine private property and Kalanianaole Highway, which is the fourth busiest highway in the State, with an estimated 84,063 cars traveling through every day, according to the "2005 Pacific Business News Book of Lists"; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2011, that the Department of Transportation, in consultation with the Board of Land and Natural Resources, is requested to support a study on reducing the utility and sewer load by repairing an artery to allow traditional water flow to Kalauha‘iha‘i Fishpond and Maunalua Bay; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the study include how to reduce the damage to the utilities, sewer, and Kalanianaole Highway by returning the traditional water flow to the Kalauha‘iha‘i Fishpond and Maunalua Bay; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Transportation submit a report to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the 2012 Regular Session; and
     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Director of Transportation, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Director of Environmental Services, and Director of Design and Construction of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

Report Title: 

Kalauhaihai fishpond