Over 800 tons of waste collected on Oahu after damaging floods

OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Over 800 tons of waste and debris were collected in post-flood cleanup efforts on Oahu, according to the city.

Several East Oahu businesses, residential areas and communities were left with debilitating flood damage after heavy rains on April 13. In the weeks since the rains, city and state crews, as well as residents, have been working to clear areas of damaged items and debris.

In the Kailua and Honolulu districts alone, the city reported collecting over 450 tons of debris.

The other several-hundred tons of storm-related waste came from roll-off containers, special bulky trash pickups, and appliance removals across the island. Between April 23 and April 26, about 14 city, state and non-governmental organizations also provided disaster assistance to 173 residents in Waimanalo and East Oahu.

On Tuesday, maintenance crews from the Department of Land and Natural Resources finished a four-day cleanup of the Ala Wai small boat harbor.

The project, which began on April 26, took 10 crew members 180 hours to clear storm-related debris from Hawaii's largest small boat harbor. The Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation had originally tried to hire a private contractor to clear the overflowing mess, but ended up doing it themselves.

DLNR officials say that the cleanup filled 18 large dumpsters with trash.

"This was hard, back-breaking work and we had people helping, when this was not among their regular duties," said Meghan Statts, district manager at the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation.

"Whatever ends up on the ground or the water upstream in the watershed ultimately washes into the harbor and into the ocean," Statts said.

Crews are continuing to work into the weekend to collect sediment and mud in areas hardest-hit by flooding, but the Department of Environmental Services announced on Tuesday that special storm pickup will end on Wednesday.