(BIVN) – A meeting to introduce the Kahaluʻu Bay Aquatic Ecosystem Restoration Study to the public will be held in Kona next week.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and and the Hawaiiʻ County Department of Parks and Recreation, in partnership with The Kohala Center’s Kahaluu Bay Education Center, will host the public scoping and informational meeting on Thursday, December 12, from 5 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. HST.

The meeting will be held in person at the West Hawaii Civic Center, or online via WebEx  (meeting number 1994 23 6467).

According to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE):

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.

USACE: “Kahaluu Bay, managed by the County of Hawaii, is an approximately one-half-mile-wide bay that includes a pocket beach and beach park located on the west coast of the island of Hawaii Image courtesy of USACE, Honolulu District.”

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.

USACE: “On the shore is a parking lot, two pavilion structures, and two restrooms. These structures are protected by three seawalls at the shoreline. Between the two seawalls is a non-functional fishpond. Corals are interspersed throughout the bay and Kahaluu is partially sheltered from waves by a historic breakwater called the Menehune Wall.”

The coral reef system provides Kahaluu Bay and the surrounding region with many ecosystem services. Within Kahaluu Bay, the coral reef provides recreational values, attracting tourists, divers, and snorkelers who wish to view the multitude of marine species that reside in and around the reef system. The reef also plays a role in sustaining subsistence fishing practices, serving as nurseries and habitats for commercially important fish species. The complex physical structure of the reef provides shelter, feeding grounds, and breeding sites for a plethora of marine organisms, the reef is a cornerstone in maintaining food web dynamics.

This feasibility study will address factors contributing to ecosystem degradation in Kahaluu Bay and recommend measures to mitigate those factors.