Ask the Mayor: Why are ʻĪao River Rocks Being Moved?

ʻĪao Valley flood restoration. Photo 10.4.16 by Wendy Osher.

Mayor Alan Arakawa answers some of the questions submitted to his office staff.

Submit your own questions about County of Maui programs, services, operations or policies to Mayor Alan Arakawa via email at AskTheMayor@mauicounty.gov, call 270-7855 or send them by mail to 200 S. High St., 9th Floor, Wailuku, HI 96793. Questions submitted will be considered for inclusion in the “Ask the Mayor” column.

Mayor,

Q: Why are pohaku being removed from the river as part of the county project at ʻĪao Valley? They should stay there and not be removed.

A: For the county work being done under the bridge, we are keeping as many boulders as possible within the area. However, there are so many boulders that they need to be stored temporarily. The storage site also needs to be maintained with best management practices in place for controlling pollution and ensuring safety.

Depending on the location within the riverbed, piling them may require additional permitting, which would likely cause a delay in getting work started. The goal is to restore capacity in the river as soon as possible and remove the debris before it gets washed down with the next rainfall.