Question: Whatever happened to plans to repair the water control system at Lake Wilson, including the broken valve that was draining the reservoir in March 2011?

Answer: The outlet valve as well as other valves have been fixed, allowing owner Dole Food Co. Hawaii to improve the control of water in Lake Wilson, Dole operations executive Daniel Nellis said.

Nellis said repairs to the water system controlling the lake will probably cost close to $2 million once completed. The repairs have included work on the outlet valves and on the tunnel that directs water from the lake to lower Kaukonahua Stream, irrigation ditches and flumes.

Nellis said the main reason for the repairs was to ensure the safety of people in Haleiwa and Waialua who live downstream from the lake.

He said the water level has to be sufficiently low so that water doesn’t spill over the dam and can be diverted safely elsewhere.

“Our big concern is the people downstream,” he said.

The repairs also assure that Dole Pineapple and farmers in Central Oahu and North Shore receive enough water for their crops.

The repairs follow worries about dam and reservoir safety after a break at the 116-year-old Ka Loko Reservoir in Kilauea on Kauai caused a flash flood in 2006 that destroyed two homes and killed seven people, including a 2-year-old boy and his parents.

Damage was estimated in the millions of dollars.

State officials have been looking at ways to help private landowners safely maintain dams and reservoirs to promote diversified agriculture in Hawaii.

Lake Wilson, with a capacity of more than 3 billion gallons, is the largest freshwater sport fishery in the state.

It was built in 1906 by Waialua Sugar Co. and includes seven miles of reservoir canyon.

Water from about 10,600 acres of watershed feeds into the north and south forks of Kaukonahua Stream and empties into the lake.

Nellis said Dole dropped the water’s depth, measured at the dam, to 65 feet weeks ago in anticipation of the first big rain, which usually occurs at the end of October. He said the rain didn’t arrive as anticipated.

In 2009, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources requested keeping Lake Wilson below
72.5 feet.

Nellis said the firm wants to keep the level between 60 and 65 feet because it feels that will allow it to control the flow of the lake when a big storm occurs.

Stan Wright, who fishes for bass on the lake with a boat, said he hopes the water level won’t go too much lower.

Wright, former co-host of the TV show “Let’s Go Fishing,” said that when the water gets too low, people are unable to launch boats from the ramp.

Wright said he saw about seven boats and a canoe on the lake recently and that fish were biting.

“We had a real good spawn this year of bass,” he said.

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This update was written by Gary T. Kubota. Suggest a topic for “Whatever Happened To…” by writing Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-210, Honolulu 96813; call 529-4747; or email cityeditors@staradvertiser.com.