The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Thursday that dredging of the Ala Wai Canal begins this month.

It’s to “remove accumulated silt and sediments, remove abandoned Hawaiian Electric Company cables, and to repair two sections of canal wall begins this month,” according to a press releases.

DLNR said extensive public outreach work was done to inform canal users such as canoe clubs of the work.

Cory Lum/Civil Beat

DLNR last dredged the canal in 2002. The walls being repaired include the mauka side fronting the Ala Wai Community Park and between the Kalakaua Avenue and McCully Street bridges.

The contractor is Hawaii Harbors Constructors JV, and the cost of dredging and wall repairs is $21.1 million.

“As canal users were previously informed, there will be temporary construction impacts including constraints to water recreation, sporadic walkway closures, and minor noise,” said DLNR. “The project is expected to last for a year.”

The canal dredging should reduce the risk of flooding, a topic that has been in the news a lot recently.

Read Civil Beat’s “Army Corps Looks To Scrap Three Basins From Ala Wai Flood Plans.”