{"id":887,"date":"2026-06-03T08:37:07","date_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:37:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=887"},"modified":"2026-06-03T08:37:07","modified_gmt":"2026-06-03T08:37:07","slug":"flood-debris-trash-choke-pearl-city-stream-weeks-after-storms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=887","title":{"rendered":"Flood debris, trash choke Pearl City stream weeks after storms"},"content":{"rendered":"
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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – A month and a half after the second Kona Low storms, farmers and property owners in Pearl City say they still need help.<\/p>\n

Read more Couch blamed in \u2018devastating\u2019 Kaimuki fire that killed family pets<\/a><\/p>\n

Casanna Gao described how floodwaters crested Waiawa stream and ran over her two-acre watercress farm as she struggled to document it with her phone.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you don\u2019t get the evidence, if you don\u2019t get the picture, people don\u2019t trust you, even though I stand like this,\u201d Gao said.<\/p>\n

Gao\u2019s daughter, Aliya, said the flood was unusual because it came from above the farm instead of backing up from below.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI was kind of in shock actually, because I knew, like, something like this happened 37 years ago,\u201d Aliya Gao said.<\/p>\n

Damage threatens farm operations<\/h1>\n

Gao farms for love \u2014 it\u2019s not her main livelihood \u2014 but the damage was considerable. Fencing was destroyed, piping from the fresh water well was ripped apart, and the watercress can\u2019t grow again until the mud that now fills the ponds is removed.<\/p>\n

Waiawa residents and a church property nearby have dealt with flooding blamed on debris caught at a bridge under the Pearl Harbor bikeway.<\/p>\n

The state says it does clear that bridge, although this year neighbors also pitched in.<\/p>\n

The portion of the stream that runs past the Gao farm has very high banks that can usually contain the flow, but not this time. <\/p>\n

Damage to trees next to the stream show that it rose well over the makai bank, bringing tons of debris including concrete, asphalt and cinder blocks into the farms. <\/p>\n

Read more Campbell track champ adds Hall of Honor to record-breaking run<\/a><\/p>\n

The family fears it won\u2019t contain the next flood either.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt must have come up very high, because they block the river, the tree, the rubbish, the grass, build slowly, slowly, and then the higher, of course, the water cannot go,\u201d Casanna Gao said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

\u201cI realized that it\u2019s just a lot of debris that\u2019s coming up from here and blocking the water from flowing freely,\u201d Aliya Gao said.<\/p>\n

\u2018These kinds of areas get forgotten\u2019<\/h1>\n

A huge amount of debris has created a dam that entirely crosses the stream, leaving the area still at risk for flooding. The debris includes long steel beams and concrete barriers, along with full-sized trees. The stream bed walls are also unstable and ready to slide down.<\/p>\n

The family invited state Rep. Cory Chun to see for himself.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes it\u2019s out of sight, out of mind, right? And so sometimes, you know, these kinds of areas get forgotten,\u201d said Chun, who represents Waiawa and Pearl City.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Along the stream, makeshift structures, shipping containers and vehicles are piled along the opposite side. In the water was heavy equipment and random junk, including an unrecognizable vehicle. In several places, vegetation and debris nearly clogged the stream.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s looking at the entire storm water and irrigation systems that we have and trying to make sure that we can at least, if not upgrade them, at least try to maintain them, to make sure these things don\u2019t happen again,\u201d Chun said.<\/p>\n

The state land department says streamside property owners are responsible to keep debris out of waterways, even if the stream is state jurisdiction. The department says it is reminding owners to keep the stream beds clear.<\/p>\n

\u201cNone of the debris from the stream has been cleaned up. And so every single time it rains, like this, and it doesn\u2019t stop, then a flood\u2019s gonna happen again,\u201d Aliya Gao said.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

The state says it is responsible for cleaning the stream, and its first contracts for regular stream clearing on Oahu are now seeking bidders.<\/p>\n

Read more No tsunami expected after magnitude 4.6 quake off Hawaii Island<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s unclear how long it will take to clean up the mess in Waiawa.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A month and a half after the second Kona Low storms, farmers and property owners in Pearl City say they still need help.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-887","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nFlood debris, trash choke Pearl City stream weeks after storms - Hawaii Moving Insider<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=887\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Flood debris, trash choke Pearl City stream weeks after storms - Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A month and a half after the second Kona Low storms, farmers and property owners in Pearl City say they still need help.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\/?p=887\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hawaii Moving Insider\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-03T08:37:07+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/590d72f16cb0f571fd45812a3c7ea1d0\"},\"headline\":\"Flood debris, trash choke Pearl City stream weeks after storms\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-03T08:37:07+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887\"},\"wordCount\":661,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/06\\\/f4844cce0d3ec4a33707a1f149cef77e.avif\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/hawaiimovinginsider.com\\\/?p=887\",\"name\":\"Flood debris, trash choke Pearl City stream weeks after storms - 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