Waikiki sand project will bolster beaches with fewer hassles

The long-awaited project to resupply Waikiki Beach with sand will take place over the next three months, but state officials say the disruption to beachgoers should be minimal.

The replenishment project will restore the beach to its 1985 width, on average an additional 37 feet. The work will stretch along 1,730 feet of shoreline from the Royal Hawaiian concrete groin to the Duke Kahanamoku statue. A blessing ceremony this afternoon near the statue will mark the start of the $2.3 million project.

The state is expected to begin bringing in the equipment for the work on Monday, and will begin pumping in sand from offshore areas beneath the ocean on Jan. 23.

Like the previous beach restoration project in Waikiki from December 2006 to January 2007, a barge will float over a large pocket of sand and pump it through a pipeline to an onshore dewatering site on the Ewa side of the Kapahulu jetty.

After the sand dries, it will be placed in a small, temporary plastic pipe running along the beach and blown with air through the pipe to locations being replenished.

State-of-the-art technology that minimizes disruption to beachgoers will be used, according to the state Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands.

Andy Bohlander, a shoreline specialist with the agency, said only about 200 feet of beachfront will be used at a time, and the pipeline will be buried in the sand on other portions of the beach, allowing most of the shoreline to be used by visitors.

"We’ve taken a lot of steps this time around to lessen disruptions," he said.

Funds for the $2.3 million project were provided through a public-private partnership with money from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Hawaii Tourism Authority and Kyo-Ya Hotels & Resorts.

According to a study conducted for the visitor industry, the economic value of Waikiki Beach is significant, and the loss to the state would be quite high if the beach were not maintained and allowed to erode — a $2 billion loss in overall annual visitor expenditures, a $150 million loss in tax revenue and a job loss affecting 6,350 people.

Officials hope to recover some 24,000 cubic yards of sand from deposits 1,500 to 3,000 feet offshore at a water depth of 10 to 20 feet.

State officials said the "recycling" program offers a more efficient method for maintaining a recreational beach while lessening some of the environmental effects of importing sand to Waikiki.

In the past, environmentalists have criticized the state for importing sand that eventually covered the reef and also adversely affected surfing areas.

Bohlander said the project took a couple of years to get under way because it required a number of state and federal permits.

Tim Tybuszewski, Oahu co-chairman of the Surfrider Foundation, said his group isn’t for or against beach replenishment, but wants to see a comprehensive master plan for Waikiki beaches, including enhanced beach access and water quality.

"The current process of only dealing with the issue immediately at hand, in this case loss of beach, will only lead to additional issues in the near future," he said.