Hawaii to take over aging dam after failure scare prompted mass evacuations

Residents worry the dam will fail during each substantial rain
Hawaii is set to acquire a 120-year-old dam that prompted thousands of residents to evacuate last week amid fears of catastrophic failure during heavy rains.

The state's land board voted on Friday to acquire the Wahiawa Dam land from Dole Food Co., paving the way for state oversight.

This will enable at least $20 million in crucial repairs and an expansion of its spillway.

Located north of Honolulu, the earthen structure was built in 1906 for sugar production by Waialua Agricultural Co., a former Dole subsidiary, and rebuilt after a 1921 collapse.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources deems it "high hazard," warning its failure could have fatal consequences.

State control has long been supported by the governor's office, lawmakers, neighbors and farmers, making Friday's vote a foregone but welcome development, Pahinui said before the vote.

Pahinui, a neighborhood board chairperson, had submitted testimony in support of the plan.

Officials also heard testimony from a farming advocate who reminded the board about the dam’s importance to crops and a resident who urged the board to act quickly.

State ownership of the dam will go a long way toward reassuring the community, Pahinui said, but residents will be keeping close tabs to ensure repairs and improvements are made.

Waters rose quickly as heavy rains fell in the most recent storm, adding to already saturated earth from other recent downpours.

The state has sent Dole four notices of deficiency about the dam since 2009, and five years ago it fined the company $20,000 for failing to address safety deficiencies on time, according to records.

Dole Chief Legal Officer Jared Gale told the land board Friday fines were for missed deadlines for submitting paperwork and not related to maintenance.

Dole has maintained the dam and spillway “very well” over the years, he said.

Dole proposed to donate the dam, reservoir and ditch system to the state in exchange for an agreement to repair the spillway to meet and maintain dam safety standards.

Prior to the vote board member Wesley “Kaiwi” Yoon expressed reservations about the deal, including whether the state can bear the costs and Dole's history of plantation-era colonization.

“If the state is going to endure this and partner with Dole, who again has a checkered past and issue with its Native community and what it's done to aina over time, it’s very difficult to be so nonchalant about this issue,” he said, using the Hawaiian word for “land.”
Yoon ultimately was the only board member to vote against the land acquisition.

Dole consultant Trisha Kehaulani Watson-Sproat told the board that as a Native Hawaiian who grew up near the dam, she believes the state taking over the dam is the “best way forward.” The alternative would be Dole decommissioning the dam, she said.

“I call it the decolonizing of this watershed system,” she said.