HONOLULU — Erosion at Waikiki Beach has worsened this season thanks to an unusual winter weather pattern, according to coastal experts.
The weather pattern changed the predominant trade-wind swell, experts said Monday at a news conference. Natural wave conditions are expected to replenish the sand once the usual trade wind patterns return for the spring and summer.
The latest erosion washed out sand surrounding the stairs in front of the Royal Hawaiian and Sheraton Waikiki hotels, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser newspaper reported. The erosion also exposed metal on a beach groin, a structure designed to trap sand, next to the Royal Hawaiian that was built decades ago to prevent erosion.
Sam Lemmo, administrator of the conservation and coastal lands office of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, called Waikiki Beach a hot spot that will cost as much as $20 million during the next decade to maintain.
“Waikiki is important to the economy; it’s the gateway to Hawaii,” Lemmo said. “It’s the first place most visitors see when they come here, so it’s very important to make a good first impression upon them and show them the Aloha spirit.”
The operator of the Royal Hawaiian Hotel recently installed sandbags to bolster a stretch of shoreline. The metal that was exposed on the beach groin also was removed.
To restore the groin, the state has budgeted $1.3 million. That work is on top of a $2.5 million infusion made in 2012 to move offshore sand to replenish several eroded sections of beach.