New sand arrives onto Waikiki Beach

A new beach maintenance project for Waikīkī Beach is set to begin next week, the Hawai’i Department of Land and Natural Resources informs.

The project is a collaboration between the DLNR Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands (OCCL) and the Waikīkī Beach Special Improvement District Association (WBSIDA).

Mobilization of equipment will begin on January 25, with the start of construction about 2 weeks later. 

Hydraulic dredging and pumping will move up to 20,000 cubic yards of marine sand from offshore Waikīkī onto Waikīkī Beach. This is a follow-up to a 2012 project which brought in 24,000 cubic yards to the beach.

No construction of any shoreline structures is planned, just placement of clean beach sand, DLNR said.

“The Kūhiō Beach/Diamond Head swim basin will be partially closed during the project, as it will be the receiving and dewatering area for pumped sand. The Kūhiō Beach/Ewa swim basins and Royal Hawaiian beach areas will have daily intermittent, partial closures to allow heavy equipment movement,” DLNR stated.

This project is a public-private partnership with the Waikīkī Beach Special Improvement District providing $1 million toward the $3-4 million estimated total project cost. It will complement the recently completed Royal Hawaiian Groin which was completed in early August 2020.