Save Kihei

Kulanihakoi Gulch at Risk

Kulanihakoi Gulch is at Risk of destruction because it is being sold off to [REMOVED]s. Kulanihakoi gulch is South Maui’s largest stream and regularly floods. The gulch is home to huge wetlands and a flood plain, a sandy beach, and nearby archeological sites including a large royal fishpond. This gulch is where the floodwater goes. Developments have been gradually encroaching into this gulch for years. [REMOVED] have been edging closer and closer into the stream bed and might be causing obstructions within the gulch, This might displace flood water and increase area flooding. If we lose any more of this gulch, flooding might increase in the surrounding neighborhoods, destroy people’s homes, cause massive disruptions, and put public safety at risk.  The county needs to protect these streams and gulches so that there is somewhere for the floodwaters to go other than the ocean. The local community has been asking the County for years to buy up these properties and protect them from development, and until now they have refused.  There should be a requirement that sellers disclose that their properties are in wetlands and sensitive natural areas.