Hawaii Regional Sediment Management Needs Assessment

Regional Sediment Management (RSM) refers to the effective use of littoral, estuarine, and riverine sediment resources in an environmentally sensitive and economically efficient manner. RSM was officially implemented at the U.S. Army Engineer District, Honolulu, Hawaii (POH), in February 2004. The overall POH RSM strategy is to investigate RSM opportunities along all coastal regions in Hawaii. Opportunities to implement RSM activities are documented and prioritized by island based on input from the Hawaii RSM Project Delivery Team (PDT) consisting of POH staff; the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands; County staff; and various stakeholders. The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) also recognizes that beach erosion is a chronic problem along most open-ocean shores. USGS has contracted with the University of Hawaii (UH) at Manoa, Coastal Geology Group (CGG), to conduct an assessment of shoreline change on three of the main Hawaiian Islands (Kauai, Oahu, and Maui). Because of the inherent critical interest of these three coastal sediment aligned organizations (USACE, USGS, and UH CGG), research conclusions by these agencies regarding sedimentation along the coastlines of the Hawaiian Islands of interest are incorporated into this document. Permission of USGS to reproduce verbatim pertinent text, tables, and figures regarding Kauai, Oahu, and Maui is acknowledged with appreciation. Pertinent sections from the UH CGG website pertaining to the Island of Hawaii are also extracted verbatim by permission which also is acknowledged with appreciation. Shoreline change rates were calculated from long-term and short-term shoreline data. A minimum of three historical shoreline positions was required when calculating the shoreline change rate. An island-by-island prioritization of RSM initiatives has been conducted by the Hawaii RSM PDT, along with a strategy to maximize beneficial use opportunities.