ELRA Annual Member Meeting October 14
Mark your calendars for the Annual Meeting on Saturday, October 14, at Mid-Pac Country Club. The board has been hard at work on a variety of items and we’ll be updating you on them – in particular, progress on the dredging project. We will also be electing new board members, details to come in September. Please join us for an evening of camaraderie with friends and neighbors on the lake!
The Kailua Neighborhood Board wants your opinion
Please take a couple of minutes to let the Kailua Neighborhood Board know what local issues are important to you via a quick online survey. We suggest you add a write-in issue of Kailua’s environment — in particular the health of Kailua streams and inland waters.
Click to take the survey.
July berm opening unsuccessful despite valiant efforts
The city crews opened the berm on July 18th… at the right date and time for a successful opening. Unfortunately, they were not able to dig a trench between the lake and the ocean that was the required depth and width to get the water flowing fast enough remain open against the surf. The bulldozer that could have done the job was stuck in Honolulu because it’s trailer was being repaired. Instead the Kailua Dept. of Facilities Maintenance (DFM) sent the only vehicle they had on hand – a front-loader. It took the city crew hours to shave down the sand and push the berm aside that had built up over the last 3 months. But the front-loader was only able to cut a shallow channel to the sea. By 8pm that night, there was just a trickle of water flowing from the ocean into the lake.
ELRA president Greg Colbert rallied a small troop of dedicated diggers to attempt an opening the next night. By then, the high tides had brought in a significant mountain of sand on the beach side that had to be dug out. Greg and the first crew started at 8 that night. A second shift arrived at midnight, and Greg worked both shifts! Despite many man-hours of digging through the night and into the wee hours of the morning, the hand-dug trench was not deep or wide enough for the lake to push through for an effective opening.
We are in contact with the City DFM in hopes that they will try again in August – this time with the right equipment!
