KAILUA-KONA — Linda Carnine, an Oregon resident, has been coming to Kahaluu Beach Park as part of her annual trip to Kona for the last 40 years.
But when she got here Monday night, she found the park still closed from a wastewater discharge on Feb. 24.
“We were really saddened,” Carnine said at the park after it reopened Friday afternoon. “It’s one of our favorite places to come.”
The discharge, attributed to a broken sewer cleanout that was fixed the same day the discharge was reported, resulted in wastewater going out onto the beach and entering waters. In addition to the cleanup, the county Department of Parks and Recreation also undertook an effort to reroute pipes away from the waterline.
Carnine said she really enjoys Kahaluu Beach Park, given its accessibility and the opportunity to see marine life.
After learning that the park had been closed, she said, she was told to call the mayor’s office.
She did and, while the county told her they were working on it, she added that they didn’t expect to reopen the beach until the end of the month.
“And we were really sad because we have to leave before then,” Carnine said.
Last week, Parks and Rec Director Charmaine Kamaka told West Hawaii Today they were “shooting to finish re-routing of the pipes in the park by the end of the month.”
Friday morning, Carnine said she was passing the bay on her way to Volcano, thinking that they wouldn’t be able to make it to the beach park this trip.
“We came back this afternoon; it was open,” she said, laughing. “We were just so delighted!”
In a statement announcing the reopening, Kamaka extended her thanks to the maintenance staff for their effort.
“They really pulled for us to get the park reopened quickly and safely,” she said.
In an interview, Kamaka said all of the work at the park has been finished and bacteria levels were cleared at the park about a week ago.
Carnine, too, extended her thanks to everyone who got one of her favorite spots open again.
“Thrilled, just so thrilled” she said of how she’s feeling now, “and so appreciative of the people that worked so hard to make it happen … I think they really hustled to get it open today.”
Other beach visitors also extended their gratitude.
William and Mary Oen have been coming here for 27 years and said the ease of access for the park is a big reason they keep coming back.
“We were lost when they closed,” Mary Oen said. Reopening the park, she said, “made a lot of people happy.”
William Oen said that after the park closed, they checked out other places. But, he said, there aren’t really any other snorkel spots like Kahaluu.
And it’s not just beach visitors who are thrilled.
Water safety officer II Ryan McGuckin said he was happy to be able to let people back in the park.
“We get to do our job again,” he said. “It’s nice. It’s nice to see people enjoying Hawaii.”
The reopening will also help local businesses in the area affected by the closure.
Jared Carman, general manager at Kahaluu Bay Surf &Sea, said the reopening is great news.
“That will definitely help our business for sure,” he said.
Carman said they weren’t able to do surf lessons, what he previously said was the shop’s “bread and butter,” for about a week after the park closed.
Visitors were still coming in for rentals, but fully opening the park back up will be a big help.
“When there’s people out there, they trickle over; they wander over. They see what’s happening; they ask questions,” he said. “And then a lot of ‘em wind up signing up for surf lessons and renting boards and everything,” he said.
He’s also excited to be able to get back out there and teach people to surf.
“We love what we do,” he said. “That’s why we all come to work everyday and we’re in the business we’re in; because first and foremost, we love to surf.”
Kamaka said no further work or projects are planned at Kahaluu Beach Park at this time.