Public invited to free presentation on Maui’s Wet Weather Outlook, Nov. 14

Should the dry and drought-stricken areas of Maui expect needed rain this winter? 

To learn more about the National Weather Service’s “Wet Weather Outlook” for Maui, the public is invited to a free Zoom presentation on Thursday, Nov. 14 at 6 p.m. by Kevin Kodama, Senior Service Hydrologist for the National Weather Service’s Honolulu Forecast Office. The talk is hosted online by Kula Community Watershed Alliance, a nonprofit community-based organization formed to stabilize, protect, restore, and maintain the areas of Kula impacted in the August 2023 wildfire.

Kodama has served as the Senior Service Hydrologist in Honolulu since 1998 and has been working on rainfall data and heavy rain events in various capacities since 1993. He will be available for questions from the online audience after his presentation.

To register for the free Zoom presentation, visit https://bit.ly/2024WetSeasonOutlook

Kula Community Watershed Alliance (KCWA) was formed in 2023 by survivors of the Kula wildfires after seeing that not only were homes destroyed and damaged – the environment was also harmed. “The fire’s intensity combined with drought prior to the fire left us with soil in Kula’s burned areas that is lacking in organic matter and prone to being washed away during rainstorms,” notes the organization’s Executive Director Sara Tekula. 

“We are very interested in Kodama’s outlook for the upcoming wet weather season because heavy rains during the wet weather season are likely to cause sediment runoff from Kula’s unstable soils,” said Tekula. “This runoff typically ends up in the ocean, where it causes harm to coral reefs along South Maui’s coast.”  

“To protect Maui’s corals, we need to prevent sediment runoff,” she said.

KCWA is working to stabilize soils in Kula’s burn scar areas by applying a mulch treatment made of woody material collected and chipped from nearby trees that were partly burned, are dead, or are fire-prone invasive species. The mulch provides a protective blanket over the soil, slowing water down along the slopes, filtering rainwater and nutrients into the ground below and getting it ready for planting. 

The next step in KCWA’s process is to restore a healthy watershed environment to the burn scar areas, using site appropriate native plants and trees. Fencing will be installed to protect these plantings from Kula’s invasive axis deer and feral pig populations. 

The free Zoom presentation will include photos of the new “living laboratory” area that KCWA has created in Kula to demonstrate restoration techniques that will be used in the burn scar areas. Attendees will also learn about KCWA’s plans to install two greenhouses to serve as a Community Restoration Nursery for raising native plants and KCWA’s partnerships with local organizations and individuals who have been growing plants for the effort over the past year.
To learn more about Kula Community Watershed Alliance visit www.kulacommunitywatershed.org. Donations are needed to support KCWA’s work and will be gratefully accepted. KCWA is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization.