KRCA Homeowners
Board of Directors Meeting
Wednesday, May 27, 2015
6:30 9:30 pm
Kilauea Neighborhood Center
Kalihiwai Ridge homeowners can find official minutes to KRCA Board of Directors meetings by setting up their own Account Log In at www.associaonline.com. They can assist you in getting your 7 digit homeowner number. After you have that you will then need to set up a User Name and Password. You can also set up having the Agenda to these meetings sent to you by e-mail the day before the meetings are held every month.
My Impressions
I was out on my boat Moe Moku this week for the first time in six months and it was such a joy. There were 40, yes 40 Nene swimming in our renewed fresh water lake, following me around all bunched together with another 40 grazing on a lakeside lawn. Two small goslings followed their parents up the hill. Then over on the beach area I spotted 20 more for a total of at least 100 Nene returning to live and breed here this spring and summer now that the water is coming back up. Just awesome to see! Never before have I seen more than 60 at a time around the lake and 40 grouped together following me in my boat was just unbelievable if I hadn't been there to experience it myself. It was like they were behaving, Welcome Back!
The refilling plan is currently on hold as the easement holders have been busy with reinstalling the sandbags and planning an engineered supervision of the opening and clearing of the outflow ditch as one option, with the seepage readings to be taken daily once the lake is at full pool 15' for a minimum of two weeks or more. The weir placed in the tailwater at the toe of the dam will also be measuring seepage daily for a two week minimum. These readings combined with the stability data will give us a completed Seepage and Stability Study ready to be turned into DLNR for their acceptance by late spring or early summer.
The preliminary results of the KR Seepage and Stability Evaluation of the Northeast Embankment shows the dam is stable at 390' elevation during normal operations, meaning a full pool lake level of 15'. The seepage readings have been taken since 12-19-14 by our KR Project Manager Jim Gair to be combined with the stability data, which will give us our final results. Our community will begin to share their Q&As at our monthly KRCA board meetings this month and a vote of confidence for an agreed upon preferred solution will be asked for from all parties concerned, planned for by no later than November 2015 so Phase II of our Settlement Agreement with the easement holders can begin.
The access road in Phase II of Kalihiwai Ridge has become a walking pathway to a beautiful destination of lake, mountains, and distant ocean views, similar to the Wai Koa Loop trail that takes you through local farmlands and to the restored Stone Dam and look out. These two hikes are fantastic additions to our neighborhood along with the North Shore Dog Park in Phase I. My hope continues that all will continue to be worked out in the end, and if we haven't worked it out yet, we haven't yet reached the end...
Until we meet again.
Aloha,
Maggie Lea
Suggested Readings: Water Resources and Climate Change Adaptation in Hawai`i: 2012 Reference: Commission on Water Resource Management Click here to download PDF file Koamalu Volumes 1&2 by Ethel M Damon, 1931 A story of pioneers on Kauai and of what they built in that island garden Sugar Water by Carol Wilcox 1996 Hawaiian & English definitions from the book: wai - water, blood, passion, life wai wai - wealth pani wai - dam water - transparent, odorless, tasteless, liquid, H2O Wetland habitat non-invasive plant suggestions: bacopa, makaloa, carex, aka 'akai, neke kupukupu, laua'e Links: Hanalei National Wildlife Refuge www.fws.gov/hanalei Kauai Forest Birds Recovery Project www.kauaiforestbirds.org Sounds Hawaiian www.soundshawaiian.com/birds National Wildlife Federation www.nwf.org Kalihiwai Reservoir is a Certified Wildlife Habitat Ducks Unlimited www.ducksunlimited.com Fishing Notes www.fishingnotes.com Hawaii Audubon Society www.hawaiiaudubon.com Sierra Club Hawaii www.sierraclubhawaii.com Sufi at the helm of Moe Moku |