Waimea River resumes usual path after slow shift toward homes
WAIMEA (HawaiiNewsNow) – Waimea River has resumed flowing through its usual path following a shift toward homes and properties, Kauai officials said.
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The river normally exits straight into the ocean, but the county had been monitoring the river’s mouth after being notified Sunday morning that the outflow had changed.
“Some of our partners at Public Works and community concerns that the outflow had kind of migrated in a westward direction, pretty much parallel to the ocean, much closer to the direction of nearby homes before cutting out onto the ocean,” said Kauai Emergency Management Agency administrator Elton Ushio.
The county continues to monitor the stream and is working with the state on a long-term plan, officials told Hawaii News Now Wednesday.
River mouth shift prompts monitoring
On Sunday, KEMA formally requested assistance from the Hawaii Emergency Management Agency for state-coordinated engineering, regulatory and operational support.
The request also included coordination with federal partners as appropriate to assess the condition and identify a safe and appropriate path forward.
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“This situation goes beyond routine clearing of the river mouth, and any action affecting the channel must be guided by appropriate engineering and regulatory expertise to avoid unintentionally worsening erosion or impacts to nearby property,” Ushio said.
Ushio added a change in flow or course of the river outflow is “challenging for county-level resources,” and emphasized getting the proper support for public safety.
Teams documented conditions at the river mouth with the Kauai Police Department’s drone team assisting with aerial imagery.
“We manage as best we can at the local level, but we are able to call upon other resources as needed. And so we can leverage state emergency management, feds in some cases, private sector, what have you,” Ushio said. “In this particular case it’s a somewhat unique situation that is not your normal river mouth outflow or opening.”
The county said there were no reports of injuries, evacuations or property damage.
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