WAIMANALO — Neighbors near an out-of-commission reservoir are asking for an environmental review to assess how the community will be affected when the state breaches the structure and restores the stream flow through it.

Under an emergency proclamation, the state Department of Agriculture, in conjunction with state and federal engineers, has decided to remove a portion of the Kailua Reservoir's embankment. Work on the project began Monday and, because it is emergency work, no permits or environmental assessments are required.

Since the proclamation suspends the permit and environmental assessment requirements, it's unlikely that an assessment will be done after the fact, Salmonson said.

"I don't recall that ever being done before," she said. "But that doesn't mean it couldn't happen."

The abandoned Kailua dam overflowed April 2 after heavy rains, which forced the evacuation of about a dozen families for several hours.

With the breach of the Kaloko Reservoir dam on Kaua'i last month that killed seven people, the state has focused intently on dam safety, including conducting inspections and tearing down dams considered unsafe.

Joe Correa, a Waimanalo resident who signed the letter with 17 others, said he would like an environmental study done because the breach will affect the entire community living along the stream below the reservoir all the way to the ocean.

He and other reservoir neighbors would like the state to improve the reservoir and convert it to a storm and debris runoff basin, which is being required in developments around the island. Water could collect and be released in a controlled manner, rather than allowed to flash flood down the stream, Correa said.

"This thing has been a godsend to Waimanalo for many years," Correa said, adding that it became a problem because the Department of Agriculture, which owns the reservoir, has not maintained it. The reservoir originally was built for irrigation purposes.

He suggested that the reservoir be given to an agency like the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, which deals with flood control.

The breach is expected to be 10 feet wide at the bottom, about 60 feet wide at the top, and 25 feet high.

Community leader Joe Ryan said he fears that allowing the stream flow to run unimpeded will put too much sediment into Waimanalo Bay. He suggested that the state could build a sediment basin at the dam site and the community could form a nonprofit group to keep it clean, since maintenance is always an issue.

The Department of Agriculture said there are no plans for the future of the site and the immediate focus is on the emergency remediation.

"The long-term situation is still not in the picture now," said Janelle Saneishi, department spokeswoman, adding that rumors are spreading, and the department will inform the community once it has decided on any action.

Some residents are placing their trust in the state.

Arden Auld, who lives on one side of the reservoir, said she doesn't want the dam filled with water because of what happened in Kaua'i. Without the necessary expertise, she said, she can't decide what to do about the problem and must leave that up to the professionals.

"They assured me that the breach was the best way," Auld said. "Who are we to question the professionals?"