Senate panels advance bill funding UH plan for Ala Wai Canal debris, water-quality work

Senate committees on Higher Education and Water and Land on Feb. 12 voted to pass Senate Bill 1146 with amendments, sending the measure forward after agreeing to blank the dollar amount and defer the bill’s effective date to July 31, 2050.

The bill would appropriate money to the University of Hawai‘i to develop an action plan and a pre‑engineering concept plan to address debris management and water‑quality control in the Ala Wai watershed. Proponents said the work would create a coordinated, watershed‑scale approach and provide student research opportunities.

“Passing this bill will provide the necessary resources to address these critical issues,” testified Katie Mizuno, a University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa student and O‘ahu resident. “The involvement of the university in developing the action plan provides an excellent opportunity for students and researchers to engage in real world environmental projects.”

Megan Stats, administrator for the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation at the Department of Land and Natural Resources, described current debris control efforts and their limits: her division’s contractor and boom catchment efforts have long operated but capture only a portion of incoming material. “We’ve had a contractor for the debris trap probably for the last 10 to 15 years. And it does catch anywhere between 20 to 30% of the debris,” Stats said, adding that a recent storm cleanup cost about $115,000.

University representatives said initial work would use student capstone projects and faculty mentors over the first two years to produce recommendations that DLNR or other agencies could act on. Bridal Morioka, testifying for the university, said the effort would look across the entire watershed rather than focus only on reactionary cleanup at the canal mouth.

Committee members and testifiers urged coordination with existing community efforts such as the Genki Ala Wai project and with multiple jurisdictions because the watershed crosses state, county and private lands. “I hope, if you could provide a list, you know, of some of the community groups and others that you have identified, then we would like to kind of make sure that we, have as many of those that are interested in doing projects connect with your efforts,” a senator said during questioning.

The chairs’ committee recommendation passed in both committees. The Higher Education committee recorded ayes from the chair and vice chair and several members; the Water and Land committee recorded a majority vote with one “no.” The committees adopted amendments that remove the specific appropriation from the bill text and defer the effective date.

The bill now moves forward per the committee reports with the adopted amendments; legislators and agency staff said they expect further interagency and community coordination if the appropriation is restored in later budget actions.