‘Sand saver’ won’t work at Wailua

The Surfrider Foundation was originally organized to oppose the destruction of beaches from “coastal armoring.”

Its message regarding coastline interference has been simple: “hard coastal structures” (groins, seawalls, jetties and breakwaters) destroy the public beach. From the Surfrider.org website: “For nearly 40 years, Surfrider has been advocating for alternatives to seawalls, such as watershed and dune restoration. Restoration projects can help fortify natural systems. In addition, we advocate for ‘Living Shorelines.’”

Now Kaua‘i County administrators have proposed a beach-destroying project at Wailua Beach. This misguided idea is from a company called “SandSaver.” The idea is to take a hollow plastic breakwater, place it very close to the beach, fill it with sand and allow the surf to push sand through its cone-shaped, hollow openings so sand will deposit on the beach, but can’t escape through the narrow holes on the beach side of the structure. The SandSaver company is proud that their product is working well in Lake Michigan. They made a nice YouTube.

Chip Fletcher is associate dean for academic affairs at the University of Hawaiʻi Manoa School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology, and professor of geology and geophysics. He said, “Similar projects have been tried and failed in at least two locations in Hawai‘i.

“1) Kailua Beach Park had a line of ‘sand grabbers,’ a series of cinder blocks lashed together by rebar, for 20 years that never worked, never stabilized the shoreline and became an unattended hazard that no one took responsibility for removing until the community went to the city with a loud voice through the neighborhood board.

“2) Kualoa Beach Park also tried and failed. You can still see them located offshore on google earth. They have done nothing to stabilize the shoreline.”

As well as being ineffective and unsightly, we believe the “sand savers” will ultimately end up as just more micro plastics in the ocean. We see first-hand what the ocean does to plastic as we clean Kaua‘i’s beaches. It becomes smaller as time goes on, but it never goes away.

The sand in Wailua Bay moves in and out and back and forth every season. The roads, the bike path and the former hotel were built on coastal dunes and coastal wetlands; always a bad idea. The ocean will always prevail. Always.

Sand replenishment is a “soft” coastal solution. It is done at Po‘ipu and Waikiki for tourism, why not at Wailua for public safety?

The state and county could elevate the road and bike path and remove the old hotel. Or, they could just find some money for beach sand replenishment.

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Dr. Gordon LaBedz is chair of the Surfrider Foundation, Kaua‘i Chapter.