HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0147.009 2000-2002 March 20, 2001
COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS
INTERGOVERNMENTAL RELATIONS
RE: WAIAKEA STREAM FLOODING
Good morning Chairman & members of the committee. l~Iy name is Glenn Santos, I live at 1377
Mailani St. Hilo, on November 2, 2000 my family and I had three feet of water in our home,
destroying all our furniture and most of the interior of our home. Our home is located one street
away from the Kawailani street bridge, which I do not believe was designed to handle the volume
of water that has been diverted to go through this bridge.
I have learned that after the flood in 1994 in which three homes on Ulana Place were damaged,
these are the three homes closest to the Kawailani St. bridge (No water reached my home in this
flood). The county met with these home owners and assured them that things would be done to
improve this bridge, six years later nothing was done. Not only was nothing done by the county
of Hawaii, the County through its Dept. of Public Works approved two new subdivisions above
Ahualani Subdivision and allowed their water run off to be diverted to the Waiakea Stream. In
watching this committees meeting of 2/21/01 on Na Leo O Hawaii I watched Mr. Azevedo tell
this committee what he discovered at Waiakea Acres sub-division which flooded prior to the
11/2/2000 flood, but had no flooding in the 2000 flood. According to Mr. Azevedo's testimony
this water was diverted to the Waiakea Stream, a similar diversion was allowed to happen with
the Waiakea Hights Sub-division.
How could the County through its Department of Public Works approve -of these two projects . _
knowing what they new after the flood of 1994 and allow these sub-division developers to divert
their run off into the Waiakea Stream? Something is very wrong here and this committee must
completely investigate how this was allowed to happen and see to it that these types of actions
are never allowed to happen again.
I await the answers for these questions from this committee and County Department of Public
Works. Thank you for allowing me this time to express my views.
Comm. No. ~ ~
~i1e No.
r PW~R.L
~f. Tot
~?R 2 0 2001
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