(BIVN) – The expedited completion of a major maintenance project at Laupāhoehoe Harbor could be authorized under a federal water resources bill that just passed through a Senate committee. 

U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai‘i), who helped secure provisions in the Thomas R. Carper Water Resources Development Act of 2024, says the bill “will support critical flood management and environmental restoration projects across Hawai‘i.”

The measure unanimously passed out of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works last week. 

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers:

The project consists of a 200-foot-long breakwater, 60-foot-long wave absorber, 9.5-foot-deep entrance channel, and a 7.5-foot-deep turning basin. Due to the heavy wave climate of the area, the project was designed to provide navigation safety conditions for approximately 60% of the year. The local sponsor is the County of Hawaii, Department of Parks and Recreation.

The Laupahoehoe project is the only U.S. Army Corps of Engineers project listed for Hawaiʻi island. Other projects include:

Maui

• New feasibility studies for flood risk management and ecosystem restoration projects across the county

Kaua‘i

• New feasibility studies for ecosystem restoration, flood risk management, and hurricane and storm damage risk reduction projects, including the Hanapēpē Levee
• Expedited completion on flood risk management project at Waimea River

O‘ahu

• Expedited completion of report on the Ala Wai Flood Risk Management Study
• New feasibility study for flood risk management project in Hawai‘i Kai
• Expedited completion of a feasibility study on modified navigation project at Honolulu Deep Draft Harbor

“As climate change drives more intense storms and flooding across Hawai‘i, we need all the federal support we can get to protect our communities and restore critical ecosystems,” said Senator Schatz. “This bill will help strengthen water infrastructure in every county and help us prevent dangerous flooding, while creating good-paying local jobs.”