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State officials joined local taro farmers Friday to commemorate completion of an extensive, $2.1 million restoration of Hanalei Stream on Kauai.
Twenty years ago a breach in the bank of the waterway diverted water from the stream and reduced the flow to the state’s largest taro-growing complex, as well as to a habitat for endangered birds. The breach also led to flooding along adjacent properties during heavy rain.
In 2011 the Legislature allocated funds to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to restore the stream.
“Without this work to repair the stream bank, flooding of adjoining properties would continue to be a risk, the taro loi would be in jeopardy due to insufficient water, and habitat for endangered Hawaii waterbirds in the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge would be negatively impacted,” said DLNR chief engineer Carty Chang.
The stream bank improvements, which include hundreds of native plants set along the stream bank, will be monitored by the DLNR over the next three years. A temporary irrigation system is in place in case of dry spells, but the area is typically one of the wettest agricultural areas on Kauai.
DLNR officials expect the vegetation will eventually blend with the surrounding forest.
The Hanalei Stream Bank Restoration Project was engineered by AECOM Technical Services Inc., and construction was done by Goodfellow Construction Inc.