Hawaii to take over aging dam after failure scare during flood evacuations

HONOLULU (AP) — A 120-year-old Hawaii dam that reached worrisome levels during heavy rains and devastating flooding, prompting thousands of residents to evacuate for fear of life-threatening failure last week, will soon be taken over by the state.

The state’s land board on Friday voted to acquire certain irrigation lands from Dole Food Co., clearing the way for the state to take over the aging dam and move forward on at least $20 million in repairs and an expansion of the spillway.

The earthen structure was built in 1906 to increase sugar production for the Waialua Agricultural Co., which eventually became a subsidiary of Dole Food Co. It was reconstructed following a collapse in 1921.

“Dole is proud to transfer this vital resource to the State of Hawaiʻi at no cost, ensuring its continued use and stewardship in support of agriculture and the broader community,” the company said in a statement after the vote.

The Wahiawa Dam north of Honolulu is a “high hazard” because its failure would likely have fatal consequences, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources wrote in recommending approval.

Residents worry the dam will fail during each substantial rain, said Kathleen Pahinui, who a week ago was among the 5,500 people ordered to evacuate from two communities on Oahu’s North Shore, famous for big-wave surfing. Evacuation orders were lifted Saturday when water receded.

State control has long been supported by the governor’s office, lawmakers, neighbors and farmers, making Friday’s vote a foregone but welcome development, Pahinui said before the vote.

Pahinui, a neighborhood board chairperson, had submitted testimony in support of the plan. Officials also heard testimony from a farming advocate who reminded the board about the dam’s importance to crops and a resident who urged the board to act quickly.

State ownership of the dam will go a long way toward reassuring the community, Pahinui said, but residents will be keeping close tabs to ensure repairs and improvements are made.

Waters rose quickly as heavy rains fell in the most recent storm, adding to already saturated earth from other recent downpours.

Gov. Josh Green said the cost of the storm could top $1 billion, including damage to airports, schools, roads, homes and a Maui hospital. He called it the state’s most serious since flooding since 2004.

Cleaning up from thick mud that oozed into homes and raging waters that lifted houses and vehicles could take years, Pahinui said.

The state has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009, and five years ago it fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records.

Dole Chief Legal Officer Jared Gale told the land board Friday fines were for missed deadlines for submitting paperwork and not related to maintenance. Dole has maintained the dam and spillway “very well” over the years, he said.

Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for an agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.

Prior to the vote board member Wesley “Kaiwi” Yoon expressed reservations about the deal, including whether the state can bear the costs and Dole’s history of plantation-era colonization.

“If the state is going to endure this and partner with Dole, who again has a checkered past and issue with its Native community and what it’s done to aina over time, it’s very difficult to be so nonchalant about this issue,” he said, using the Hawaiian word for “land.”

Yoon ultimately was the only board member to vote against the land acquisition.

Dole consultant Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Sproat told the board that as a Native Hawaiian who grew up near the dam, she believes state takeover is the “best way forward.” The alternative would be Dole decommissioning the dam, she said.

“I call it the decolonizing of this watershed system,” she said.