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Kikiaola Light Draft Harbor

The Kikiaola Light Draft Harbor is located along the southwest coast of the island of Kaua’i between the towns of Kekaha and Waimea. The project was authorized under Section 101 of the River and Harbor Act of 1968. The local sponsor, State of Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources. The project is in the operations and maintenance phase.

The Kikiaola Light Draft Harbor was completed in 2009 at a cost of $18,771,500. The Federal project modified an existing harbor, which was originally developed by the State of Hawaii in 1959. The Federal project consists of a dredged 725-foot-long entrance channel varying in width from 95 to 205 feet with a depth of 11 feet; a dredged 320-foot-long access channel varying in width from 70 to 95 feet with a depth of 7 feet; an east breakwater 1,056 feet long with a maximum crest elevation of 12 feet; and a west breakwater 610 feet long with a maximum crest elevation of 8 feet.  These navigation improvements were designed to eliminate dangerous breaking wave conditions within the entrance channel and allow for the safe passage of vessels entering the basin. The local sponsor, State of Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources, continues to work towards fulfilling their obligation to construct items of local cooperation such as the sand bypass system and west breakwater root repair. These features are integral to the overall function of the modified harbor project.

Kikiaola Harbor provides the home for many recreational activities on the Na Pali coast.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is responsible for maintaining the project structures and project depths in the entrance channel and turning basin area. Maintenance dredging was conducted in 2018.