Mānoa: Enhancing coastal resilience in West Maui is goal of new PacIOOS grant

UH News

University of Hawaiʻi at MānoaContact:Posted: Jul 14, 2017Severe coastal erosion causes loss of property, infrastructure, and impacts water quality at Honokowai.Wave inundation at Honoapiilani Hwy. Other sections are actively undermined by erosion and waves.Sandbag barrier in Kahana where condominium properties are threatened by erosion and high waves.The University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa’s Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) will develop a high-resolution, real-time wave run-up forecast and notification system for West Maui’s coastline with a $500,000 award from NOAA’s Regional Coastal Resilience Grants Program.PacIOOS will also model a suite of inundation planning scenarios that take rising sea levels and increasing wave energies into account. Site-specific, short- and long-term forecasts will strengthen West Maui’s coastal community and economy by enhancing preparedness and response operations, and by informing future land use planning. The three-year project is expected to begin in October 2017.A combination of high water levels and large wave swells can result in significant coastal erosion, damage to infrastructure and properties and land-based sedimentation that impairs coastal water quality. The State of Hawaiʻi has experienced an increase in wave plus tide-driven flooding in recent years, and these events are expected to grow in numbers and duration due to sea level rise and changing wave energies.“We are affected by chronic shoreline erosion in West Maui. Some of the properties that are built close to the shoreline are literally on the brink of falling into the ocean,” said co-investigator Tara Owens, UH Sea Grant College Program coastal processes extension agent. “Flooding and wave inundation is also a major concern for our infrastructure, including Honoapiʻilani Highway, which is the only reliable access to this part of the island. These roughly 21 miles of coastline are extremely important for Maui’s economy, local businesses, homeowners and visitors, and yet they are extremely ...

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