The Limtiaco Consulting Group was awarded an Honor Award at the 2010 Engineering Excellence Awards Competition for the Makaua Stream Restoration and Debris Removal Project. The Engineering Excellence Awards competition is held by the American Council of Engineering Companies – Hawaii. The award is for superior engineering services provided by the company for the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources and area residences whose homes were in imminent danger of collapse following the 40 days of rain from the February-March 2006 storm. The project restored failed embankments in multiple locations and removed large quantities of debris that impaired the flow capacity of the Makaua Stream, located in Ka’a’awa, Oahu.

“The Limtiaco Consulting Group designed a project which was on time and came in under budget. The ability to do those things, while adhering to a compressed design schedule, is the hallmark of a technically competent firm,” said Carty Chang, Acting Chief Engineer of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Engineering Division.

Design Technology and Sustainable Building
Project improvements were designed with state-of-the-art hydraulic modeling and computer-aided design software. Sustainable construction was supported through on-site materials reuse: debris that was washed downstream during the storm event was collected and reused as rip-rap material for construction of the new embankment walls. This sustainable approach to construction avoided financial and environmental costs associated with transportation, debris disposal, and construction materials importing.