The Maui News
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday started work to drain an underground parking garage on Front Street in Lahaina that has remained flooded since the Aug. 8 fire.
“A water diversion system that kept the garage dry failed during this wildfire,” EPA Incident Cmdr. Tara Fitzgerald explained in a county news release Thursday. “We are working closely with the County of Maui to safely drain the flooded garage and clear remaining hazardous materials.”
Initially the Maui Police Department was unable to conduct a comprehensive search due to the questionable structural integrity of the parking structure combined with the concern for possible hazardous materials in the water.
However, with federal and county agencies working together, the standing water will be removed and a search will be performed. Pumping will occur at night during low tide when water levels in the garage are lower.
Once MPD is able to complete a search, the EPA will remove hazardous materials. The EPA said it has consulted and coordinated with the county, cultural monitors and the Federal Emergency Management Agency on this operation.
Water sampling shows that the water in the flooded garage is similar to surface runoff from driveways, streets and parking garages, according to the county news release. The EPA will pump the estimated 400,000 to 600,000 gallons of water to an existing empty stormwater detention basin in Lahaina to allow workers to access the garage and continue pumping water until operations are completed, or until the detention basin reaches capacity. The detention basin is located just north of the West Maui Skate Park and has a 2-million-gallon capacity.
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