Study tries to revive Ala Wai flood project, which has lost more than $200 million in federal support

Hawaii has lost hundreds of millions in federal funding for the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Project, but the city has signed an agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a study aimed at getting the 2-decade-old project moving again.

The project, which goes back to a 2001 feasibility study, hit a roadblock last year when the Army Corps of Engineers confirmed that costs had nearly doubled to $651 million.The higher price tag came after the agency made dramatic changes to the project, including adding a four-story pump station to the historic Ala Wai Canal, where controversial walls and berms already were planned.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday that the project is now getting a rare chance for a reset. He said the federally funded study will draw on previous knowledge to develop a new scope while balancing risk and cost.

“My understanding with the (Army Corps) is that they will take a really fresh look at it,” said Blangiardi, who wasn’t in office when the previous plan fell apart.

“They don’t do this very often, have a project like this of this caliber not happen, and then come back in and say they are willing to reevaluate,” Blangiardi said. “This is a very fortunate thing for us. We did make a case for it, and I also want to acknowledge (U.S.) Sen. Brian Schatz.”

Blangiardi signed a cost-sharing agreement June 30 with Honolulu District Commander and District Engineer Lt. Col. Eric Marshall for an Ala Wai Canal Flood Risk Management General Reevaluation Study.

Marshal said in a statement, “USACE consistently engages with the City and County of Honolulu and they want us to reevaluate the Ala Wai Watershed. This study will identify a project that optimizes the level of risk reduction to maximize benefits to the community; i.e., the study will ensure the project is cost-effective, economically justified, technically sound, and environmentally acceptable.”

Under the terms of the agreement, the federal government will pay up to $3 million for the study. If that leads to a project partnership agreement, the city will pay $1.68 million toward design costs.

Alex Kozlov, director of the city Department of Design and Construction, said previous funding for the project “is gone. It’s been reabsorbed and re-appropriated in the federal government.”

The project was previously funded for construction by the federal Bi- Partisan Budget Act of 2018 under the Long-term Disaster Recovery Investment Program with an authorized cost of just over $345 million. Most of the cost would have been borne by the federal government. The state was expected to contribute $121 million for the project, which the city would maintain.

Kozlov said the scope, cost and timeline for a new project is as yet undetermined.

“Everything is on the table at this point, which is kind of exciting,” he said, adding that the study isn’t locked into a particular level of risk like a 100-year storm, either.

“We can decide what level we want to take and at what cost,” Kozlov said.

He said the study will be informed by public input from online and in-person community outreach, which is likely to begin around the end of October or early November.

“We want to hear all reasonable ideas of what’s going on,” Kozlov said.

Sidney Lynch said the first round of the Ala Wai flood mitigation project failed because of lack of community engagement in the beginning. Lynch is president of Protect Our Ala Wai Watersheds, which previously went to court to stop the city and and state from obligating public funds for an earlier version of the project.

“It is to be hoped that during this new study both the city and Army Corps of Engineers will truly include the community in input and feedback of each step of the design process and not just inform the community of decisions made behind closed doors,” she said.

Once the study, which could take up to three years, is complete, Kozlov said “we’ll have to re-compete” for funding as part of a new federal appropriation cycle.

“It’s going to cost what we think is the optimum solution, and that could be less, it could be more than any number that was posed in the past,” he said.

Blangiardi said the project “should be a federal, state and city partnership” but that it’s too early to make that call given variables like changing administrations.

“We want to see what this feasibility study produces and then will go to work,” Blangiardi said.

Kozlov said the goal is to get the study completed in time to make the federal fiscal year 2024 funding stream. The project will require an environmental assessment, which will determine whether an environmental impact statement is needed, he said.

“The more complicated the project, the greater the permit timeline,” Kozlov said. “Obviously, time is not on our side. We want to get into construction as fast as we can. But I can’t tell you if it’s going to be construction in (2025 or 2026). I’m not that clairvoyant.”

Blangiardi added, “If we could have it built tomorrow, I would have it built — that’s our sense of urgency on this.”

The Army Corps previously estimated that a 100-year flood in the watershed, which includes Waikiki, could affect 1,358 acres, damage 3,000 structures and cost more than $1.14 billion. The potential for damage on a massive scale has been the main driver of support for the project, which has met with some community resistance.

Waikiki Neighborhood Board Chairman Bob Finley said he’s glad that the project, which was mired in early controversy, has a chance at a fresh start — especially given that Waikiki is already grappling with flood problems.

“Floodwater previously overpowered the sump pump in my building and caused the elevators to shut down, putting tenants at risk,” he said. “If a huge amount of water came in, we would be looking at millions, maybe billions of dollars in damage throughout Waikiki.”

Ala Wai General Reevaluation FCSA_executed 210630 (2) by Derek Kalani on Scribd