Interested parties are hereby notified that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), Honolulu District and the Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation, in partnership with The Kohala Center’s, Kahaluu Bay Education Center (KBEC), will host a public scoping and informational meeting to introduce the Kahaluu Bay Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Study. The meeting will be available to both in-person and virtual attendees with restoration study partners in attendance to introduce the study, provide background information, answer questions and gather public input.
Who is invited?
USACE, Hawaii County, and KBEC are encouraging all interested parties who either live nearby or have kuleana or pilina at Kahaluu Bay to attend.
What is the meeting about?
A public meeting to introduce the Kahaluu Bay Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Study, provide background information, answer questions, and solicit public feedback.
When is the meeting?
The meeting is scheduled from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, December 12, 2024. Doors will open at 4:30 p.m.
Where is the meeting?
You may join the meeting either of two ways:
1) In-person at:
West Hawaii Civic Center
74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway
Building G Conference Room
Kailua-Kona, HI
2) Virtual via WebEx at:
https://usace1.webex.com/meet/andrew.d.macinnes
US Toll Free: 1-844-800-2712
Meeting number: 1994 23 6467
Why is the public being invited to this meeting?
Public participation is vital to successfully conducting a transparent and inclusive planning study as well as properly restoring the health of Kahaluu Bay. This can only be accomplished by soliciting and integrating a diverse range of ideas, thoughts, comments and concerns into the study.
Study Background:
USACE and Hawaii County entered into a cost-share partnership on August 14, 2024, to develop and evaluate aquatic ecosystem restoration measures that could be implemented at Kahaluu Bay, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Island. The study is authorized and funded under Section 206 of the Water Resources Development Act of 1996 which allows USACE, in partnership with a non-Federal sponsor, to initiate investigations and implement projects for aquatic ecosystem restoration with the objective of restoring degraded ecosystem structure, function and dynamic processes to a less degraded, more natural condition considering the ecosystem's natural integrity, productivity, stability, and biological diversity.
Kahaluu Bay is located on the west coast of the island of Hawaii, approximately five miles south of Kailua-Kona. The beach park is managed by Hawaii County and features an approximately one-half-mile-wide bay, a narrow beach and beach park with public comfort facilities. The beach park is protected by three seawalls along the shoreline and the shallow bay is partially sheltered from waves by a historic breakwater, known as the Menehune Wall. The bay attracts over 400,000 visitors per year.
Kahaluu Bay is a wahi pana with historic and cultural significance to the Native Hawaiian community. The study area includes several cultural sites that are part of the greater Kona complex.
There are four major habitat types within the bay: the nearshore intertidal zone and tide pools and within the breakwater, lagoon, and coral reef. The water ranges from 2 to 6 feet deep. The sheltered reef provides feeding grounds, breeding sites and a nursery for a plethora of marine organisms and is essential to maintaining food web dynamics along the Kona coast. The coral reef system provides the West Hawaii community with recreational value, subsistence fishing practices, and food security.
An ecosystem restoration study is needed because the Kahaluu coastal and marine aquatic ecosystems have been adversely impacted by stormwater runoff, sedimentation, inundation, and human use. Solutions to ensure healthy coastal ecosystems into the future are essential to the well-being of Kahaluu Bay and the community.
Additional study information is available on the Honolulu District website at:
https://www.poh.usace.army.mil/Missions/Civil-Works/Civil-Works-Projects/Kahaluu-Bay/
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This Public Notice is issued by the Chief, Civil and Public Works Branch.