As Hauula grapples with flood after flood, residents worry about the community’s future

HONOLULU, Hawaii (HawaiiNewsNow) - Flooding in Hauula has been a problem for years but residents say the problem is getting worse.

Just ask Garrick Ahquin.

His yard flooded out during the Christmas Day storm. He said that even during moderate rains, his yard is under water.

“Waist high, waist high. The water gets in your house ... everybody all jam up," he said.

Next door neighbor Andrew Moss has the same problem.

“My house is on stilts but it pretty much comes all the way underneath sometimes -- underneath my living room and even my porch and sometimes under my kitchen as well," he said.

Part of the problem has to do with the build up of sand near the mouth of Pokiwai Stream, which blocks the water from it’s natural flow to the ocean.

A pipe and valve system installed in 2015 was supposed to help the stream water reach the ocean. But it has since been destroyed by waves.

Along with blockages at the mouth of stream, the flow of water is also affected by overgrowth upstream. And residents are caught in the middle.

“There are restrictions all the way up the stream," said environmental watchdog Carroll Cox, who has documented the flooding problems in Hauula for years.

“Constant maintenance of the streams would prevent or retard some of this flooding.”

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