‘It’s a hazard’: Kauai homeowner worries next big storm could wash away his home

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A Kauai landowner worries the next big storm could wash away his home.

Lee Cramer, 83, lives along Haleilio Road in Kapaa near a reservoir known as Wailua House lots, beneath the mountain known as sleeping giant.

“Every time it rains hard, I get thrown into blue funk because I’m frightened of what of what will come with the next rainy season,” said Cramer.

“And I haven’t gotten any relief.”

Cramer said a 2012 dam burst at the Wailua Reservoir washed away much of his property.

“It is like a mini-Waimea Canyon, it’s a 30-foot drop,” said Cramer. “It’s not a gradual thing, you can go to the edge of it, which incidentally, is crumbling and then plunge 30 feet down onto a bunch of rocks and that sort of thing.

“So, it’s a hazard to life and limb.”

Cramer fears his home could slip into that 30-foot drop.

He said what’s making things worst is a state drainage ditch that leads to the Wailua House lots reservoir is clogged.

And that’s diverting even more runoff into his property.

Cramer said he’s been asking Kauai lawmakers and the DLNR for help for ten years.

“The state has just pretty much given me the cold shoulder,” said Cramer.

After multiple attempts to confirm information, the Department of Land and Natural Resources told Hawaii News Now that the Wailua House lot reservoir is on state land, but it’s unregulated.

DLNR released the following statement.

We are currently working to determine what can be done to protect public health and safety. We caution that acting prematurely without proper study and evaluation could result in hazards to other individuals and properties in the vicinity of the reservoir.

Cramer was advised to file a claim against the state, but he said an attorney told him about a similar case that took 13 years to settle.

“I’m 83 years old, I don’t have 13 years,” said Cramer.

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