{"id":259122,"date":"2025-10-29T17:31:08","date_gmt":"2025-10-29T17:31:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/259122\/"},"modified":"2025-10-29T17:31:08","modified_gmt":"2025-10-29T17:31:08","slug":"long-term-solutions-being-explored-after-dredging-of-pohoiki-boat-ramp-failed-big-island-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/259122\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-term solutions being explored after dredging of Pohoiki Boat Ramp failed : Big Island Now"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\n\"\"<\/a>Pohoiki Boat Ramp. (Photo courtesy Rep. Greggor Ilagan)<\/p>\n

After the recent dredging at Pohoiki Boat Ramp failed, state Rep. Greggor Ilagan of Puna described two options for a long-term solution.<\/p>\n

He said during a town hall meeting this weekend that one option was to install two jetties at Pohoiki. The other idea was to conduct a full dredge of the bay, which Ilagan said was less promising.<\/p>\n

Dredging work began in June<\/a> to restore access to the lava-barricaded boat ramp, after lava from an eruption of K\u012blauea in 2018 rendered it unusable. While the project was progressing well, ocean swells from Oct. 16 to 19 refilled the channel with black sand, cobbles and larger lava rocks.<\/p>\n

\u201cMore dredging means more environmental impacts,\u201d Ilagan said Sunday. <\/p>\n

Referring to the wide dredge of the bay, the lawmaker added: \u201cIf we dredge the entire bay, and we know that there is sand under all the Puna Coast, who is to say the sand won\u2019t do the exact same thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The plan to install two jetties, or small piers, is more likely to succeed, Ilagan said. This would require about 105,000 cubic yards of dredging.<\/p>\n

But this option would require the state to secure more than $60 million for the project, which could be secured in phases. Plans and designs could still be made in the next two to three years, Ilagan said.<\/p>\n

Goodfellow Bros., which was contracted to perform the dredging work over the summer, opened a clear channel on Oct. 10 for the first time since black sand blocked ocean access. The completion date had been set for February 2026.<\/p>\n

Board of Land and Natural Resources Chair Dawn N.S. Chang said the contractors were ahead of schedule with dredging nearly complete when it backfilled with sand and debris.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe acknowledge the community\u2019s disappointment,\u201d Chang said. \u201cWe are terribly disappointed, too. The Department of Land and Natural Resources recognizes how significant the Pohoiki Boat Ramp is to the Big Island community. <\/p>\n

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\u201cBecause it is one of the only places for boats to enter the ocean from Hilo to South Point, it has tremendous strategic importance for responding to a variety of emergency situations.\u201d<\/p>\n

During Sunday\u2019s town hall meeting in Puna, Ilagan said 46,000 cubic yards of sand were dredged from the area before it was backfilled. A full dredge would be at least 175,000 cubic yards to clear the ramp area.<\/p>\n

Hawai\u2018i County Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz said she doesn\u2019t see the ramp as a priority for lawmakers at this point with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (commonly referred to as SNAP) potentially being unfunded starting Saturday due to the federal government shutdown.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Pohoiki boat ramp on Tuesday, June 24, 2025. (Photo Courtesy: Hawai\u2018i Department of Land and Natural Resources)<\/p>\n

But Kierkiewicz added that the next step is advocating for the state to reinvest in the project. She said the backfilling of the area could have been avoided if reinforcements were put in place to keep the channel open, especially knowing that swells would occur there.<\/p>\n

Since 2018, Kierkiewicz said fishermen in the area have had to travel to Hilo or Ka\u2018\u016b to launch their boats.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFishermen have received no government support, and this (failed dredging) doesn\u2019t help the recovery process at all,\u201d Kierkiewicz said. \u201cYou need Pohoiki, or the fishing community folds.\u201d<\/p>\n

While they are moving forward with discussing long-term solutions, Ilagan told the community there are short-term issues that need to be addressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will be meeting with the county, the Department of Health and\u00a0Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation\u00a0to talk about the pond at Pohoiki,\u201d Ilagan said. \u201cThe heat will cause some bacterial things and we want to make sure it is safe for the public.\u201d<\/p>\n

Outside of the potential loss of food stamps, Ilagan said, the state also is facing fiscal restraint as Medicaid and Medicare for some recipients are also on the chopping block if the federal budget if passed. The state will have to take on some of the financial gap.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe positive news is that within a year or two we can go through the plans and design process,\u201d Ilagan said. \u201cHopefully by that time, our entire government has not collapsed, and we can figure out how to secure construction funding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chang acknowledged the boat ramp is a lifeline for traditional and subsistence fishers, adding the land board will continue to work with the community and elected officials to find a path forward.<\/p>\n

Since 2021, project engineers have observed the black sand at Pohoiki steadily eroding, with material moving south along the shoreline, according to a news release from the Department of Land and Natural Resources. <\/p>\n

But Pohoiki had not accumulated any additional rock or sediment in approximately four years.<\/p>\n

In the final environmental assessment, completed in July 2023, four project options for reopening the boat ramp at Pohoiki were considered. <\/p>\n

Two of the options with the greatest potential for long-term solutions were also the most expensive. The first involved the construction of a two large breakwater structures to protect the channel entrance at $46 million, and the second involved removing a majority of the volcanic debris from Pohoiki Bay that had a pricetag of $40 million.<\/p>\n

The other two options, which involved dredging a channel, were less preferred because of the potential for ocean swells to fill the space, the state said in a news release.<\/p>\n

Despite the likelihood of the channel filling back with debris, the state moved ahead with the plan to dredge a wide channel for $5.4 million. <\/p>\n

During the 2023 Legislative Session, $35 million was set aside for the project, but lower revenue forecasts that year led to $1.1 billion in state budget cuts. The Legislature was able to provide $6.65 million for the project, which was only sufficient to fund the channel dredging and was consistent with the scope of work approved by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe realized that if we waited for full funding for our preferred option, it might never come,\u201d Chang said. \u201cFor decades, Pohoiki has been one of the most important fishing ports along Hawai\u2018i Island\u2019s East coast, and with no other emergency ocean access from Hilo to South Point, the overall community sentiment was that it was better to try something than to do nothing, with everyone acknowledging there was no guarantee this would work or how long it would last.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Ilagan, the reason the state did not pursue a \u201clong-term\u201d solution for the boat ramp was that the Federal Emergency Management Agency would only reimburse funding for what was destroyed in the 2018 lava flow, but not any new construction.<\/p>\n

Hawai\u2018i County Mayor Kimo Alameda said the county is financially taxed with its own lava recovery projects that include repaving the lava-inundated Highway 137 from Highway 132 to Pohoiki Road, and improvements to Isaac Kepo\u2019okalani Hale Beach Park and its bathrooms.<\/p>\n

The County of Hawai\u2018i Department of Parks & Recreation was awarded approximately $4.9 million in disaster recovery assistance from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and State of Hawai\u2018i loans to address the damage.<\/p>\n

Alameda hopes state officials aren\u2019t looking to the county for funds.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe recovery is still a big part of the county\u2019s focus and we\u2019re working on following on our end of the deal,\u201d Alameda said. \u201cI hope they can figure this thing out. For more funds they should reach out to FEMA.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reporter Kelsey Walling contributed to this story.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Pohoiki Boat Ramp. (Photo courtesy Rep. Greggor Ilagan) After the recent dredging at Pohoiki Boat Ramp failed, state…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":259123,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[5375,5376,139972,77270,1743,192,139973,13888,139974,79],"class_list":["post-259122","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-big-island-news","tag-big-island-now","tag-dawn-chang","tag-department-of-land-and-natural-resources","tag-dredging","tag-environment","tag-goodfellow-bros","tag-hawaii-news","tag-pohoiki-boat-ramp","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259122","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=259122"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/259122\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/259123"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=259122"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=259122"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=259122"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}