It may not look like it now, but in the next few months ….
"The biggest waves in the world break here at Makaha beach, it can be the size of this building over here," says Brian Keaulana, Makaha resident.
Something Veteran waterman, Keaulana, looks forward to, except that a big swell also means big problems for the beach.
"Water is the most powerful force in nature," says Keaulana.
Winter West and North swells suck the sand towards the South.
"It will wash across the roads all the time," says Keaulana.
All that water quickly erodes the shoreline, threatening the stability of lifeguard stands, trees and even the parking lot.
"It will keep pushing and eroding, and it will erode all the way back, this whole area will be falling down," says Keaulana.
That’s why in anticipation of what’s to come, city crews will rev up their heavy equipment Monday morning to push sand up the beach and help prevent future erosion.
"Bulldoze the sand, pile it up a lot on this side, so when the big North comes, it won’t erode the beach totally," says Tony Guerrero, Makaha Resident.
The community rallied together in February to restore washed out sand, but more needs to be done.
"I think we’re going to finally put Makaha beach back to the way it belongs, get rid of the erosion," says Guerrero.
Still Guerrero believes there’s an even better way to protect the beach.
"Same problem with Waikiki, they built too close to the ocean, this road should be in back of the Canoe Hale," says Guerrero.
"If they’re not going to take the road away, the ocean is going to take it away they have to do something," says Keaulana.
He says he’s also been eying an idea used in Australia.
"They actually get the sand where it’s already filtered out in the ocean, replenish the sand," says Keaulana.
Until a permanent solution is found, restoring the sand is the easiest quick fix.
Work begins at Makaha Beach at 8:00am Monday and will last a couple of days.
See the original article at: KHON2 Developing Stories
