A substantial beach adorned the Kahana coastline as early as three decades ago. It is a cause of growing concern that Kahana Bay Beach is nearly all gone, and coastal properties in Kahana are in great danger of being obliterated by rising sea levels.
At present, restoration work is still being discussed but still needs a target date to start. It is estimated that about 1,200 feet of the Kahana coastline are endangered by flooding due to rising sea levels.
Site Map Included in the full EIS.
Condominium complexes along the Kahana coastline have been routinely repairing infrastructure and sea walls because of the damages brought about by the sea level rise over the years.
See List of Specific Condo Complexes involved
For decades, coast erosion has caused shoreline recession, beach narrowing, and public access reduction. This has also increased the risk of natural hazards to oceanfront resources, buildings, infrastructure, amenities, and communities.
Private properties have built various shoreline protection structures in response to the prevailing coastal flooding. This includes stone and concrete seawalls, sandbagging, planted seabreams, and even aging structures repurposed and modified to battle the waves.
Maui County conducted a feasibility study in 2016 to ascertain if Kahana Bay could be rebuilt by beach nourishment and the construction of T-shaped groins further offshore that would serve as a breakwater and lessen the toll of ocean swells and help preserve the beach and the coastline. There have been 2 Environmental Impact Statements drafts have been developed since, with the latter in 2021.
Properties gravely affected by the extreme beach erosion at Kahana Bay have formed the Kahana Bay Steering Committee (KBSC) to find long-term, regional solutions to the problem.
Kahana Bay is at a crucial juncture in its fight to mitigate natural hazard risks to life and infrastructure. Year after year, sea level rise, strong waves, coastal flooding, and shoreline development have stripped Kahana's coast of its sand and soil.
KBSC, along with Maui County Planning Department and SeaGrant, have commissioned Oceanit, a coastal engineering consulting organization specializing in sea level rise mitigation, to help find long-term solutions to manage the crisis. It has been named the Kahana Bay Mitigation Project (KBMP).
All the parties involved have voiced out that it will be only through a community-driven approach that the Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Program will have its best chance of success.
The Kahana Bay Mitigation Program has provided a list of how it will develop a sustainable and resilient approach to slow down erosion along the Kahana shoreline;
- Draft a project proposal conforming to Federal, State, and County regulations.
- Establish the most suitable shoreline protection to natural and existing site conditions.
- Cultivate a cost-effective erosion mitigation solution that has the most negligible environmental impact while protecting existing infrastructure.
- Find a sustainable and resilient solution that will lessen the environmental impact of repair and maintenance.
- Develop solutions using accepted engineering principles and best management practices.
- Re-rehabilitate and preserve Kahana's sandy beach for cultural, social, and recreational purposes.
In response to the call for community involvement and alarmed by the severe coastal erosion that puts people and infrastructure at risk, neighboring properties along Kahana Bay are proposing a project that would utilize offshore sand to restore Kahana Bay to how it was 50 years ago.
The proposal is for the stretch from Kahana Stream to Pohaku Park to be expanded by some 65 feet by having sand brought in from 3 offshore sites. The project is categorized as beach nourishment and berm enhancement and would augment other Kahana Bay Erosion Mitigation Project restoration work. The project would cost anywhere from 26 to 40 Million USD. It will take 6 to 9 months to complete but could take as long as two years if done in phases.
KBSC described the proposed project as a "sustainable and resilient solution to mitigate erosion." The project focuses on beach nourishment which will require dredging, transporting, and laying up to 100,000 cubic yards of sand from 3 offshore sites to Kahana Bay.
The options to finance the project include private funding, Federal Emergency Management Building Resilient Infrastructure and Community fund, and County of Maui Community Facility District Funding.