City facility maintenance briefs council on stream maintenance challenges and proposed stormwater master planning

The Honolulu Department of Facility Maintenance on July 23 told the City Council Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology that aging streams and stormwater infrastructure, limited equipment and operator resources, and staffing vacancies constrain the city’s ability to maintain drainage and stream channels.

Gene Albano, director and chief engineer for the Department of Facility Maintenance, summarized the department’s role and said stormwater has been less resourced than drinking water or wastewater. The department presented current maintenance practices, permitting constraints and a proposed three‑part master‑planning process that it says will support long‑term asset management.

Chief Tyler Sugihara and drainage engineer Thomas Takeuchi described how routine stream maintenance is carried out under U.S. Army Corps of Engineers permits and state water‑quality certifications. Takeuchi said the city’s stream maintenance permit issued in September 2019 covered 92 streams and had a five‑year term that was administratively extended while the Army Corps updates permit rules; another dredging permit issued in February 2022…