Otake Camp and other plantations in Haleiwa and Waialua were built in ideal locations for sugar cane and pineapple production, but the worst during heavy storms.

Flooding has been a headache for part of the North Shore, said Russell Yost, University of Hawaii plant and soil sciences professor.

“When you have torrential rains, it all comes to Haleiwa and Waialua,” said Yost, of the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources.

Constructing more dams could help alleviate that flooding, he said.

Dams are one option that will be discussed at a meeting of the North Shore Neighborhood Board’s Special Committee on the Kaiaka Bay Watershed, Flood Control and Water Quality from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. tomorrow at the Haleiwa Shingon Mission.

UH professors Yost and Aly El-Kadi will talk about several possible short-term and long-term flood control measures. The public is invited to attend.

The committee was formed following the heavy rainfall in December 2008 that caused flood damage to many homes, vehicles and farms. Experts started the Kaiaka Bay Watershed Participatory Assessment and Action Project to look at what can be done.

El-Kadi, UH geology professor and assistant director of the Water Resources Research Center, said he and other experts visited Korea earlier this year to observe floodwater storage basins that are used to control water flow and replenish groundwater.

Flood control suggestions are still in the discussion phase. More research has yet to be done to address feasibility, reliability and costs of the control measures.

“One of the things we need to develop is a cost-benefit analysis of what kind of benefits are reasonable to be expected on such an installation,” said Yost, noting the measures are expected to be costly.