The Kahului Harbor area extends from Kahului Harbor Park east to Kaʻa, at the west end of Kanahā Beach Park. The coastline consists of sandy beach, hard shoreline and various engineered structures. Hobron Point at Kahului Harbor, constructed beginning in 1910, divides the study area into two sections for description purposes.
As a whole, the area (transects 296 – 441) has experienced moderate to severe erosion since 1912 with an average rate of -0.7 ft/yr across the entire study area. Kahului Beach and Hoaloha Park are located in the western portion of Kahului Harbor (transects 296 – 364). This area is characterized by sandy beaches separated by rip-rap revetments and a groin field. This section of the study area has experienced light to moderate erosion over time, with an average rate of -0.4 ft/yr; however, there are small sections of high erosion (up to -2.8 ft/yr at transect 331) and moderate accretion (1.2 ft/yr near and around transect 343).
East of Kahului Harbor, a large white sandy beach extends from Hobron Point to Kaʻa, characterized by five boulder groins. Offshore is a wide fringing reef. The Wailuku/Kahului
Wastewater Reclamation Facility, constructed between 1975 and 1977 is situated in the center of this region. Between 1977 and 1987 a revetment was built to protect the seaward side of the settling pond of the facility from erosion and wave over-wash, resulting in beach loss in front of the revetment. This portion of the study site (transects 366 – 441) has experienced moderate to severe erosion since 1912 with an average rate of -1.0 ft/yr.
Last updated: July 2021
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