Ka Loko Reservoir is a

reservoir A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including contro ...

created by an earthen

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

on the island of

Kauai, Hawaii Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. It is located on the north side of the island at . Waters flow from Ka Loko Reservoir down to Waiakalua Reservoir, Waiakalua Stream and down to the

Pacific Ocean The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the continen ...

. Ka Loko (sometimes spelled Kaloko) is notable because its dam burst on March 14, 2006. The dam burst was preceded by unusually heavy rain. The flood from the dam failure raced downhill through a ravine east of the town of Kilauea, Hawaii, with a wall of water reported to be between high and wide. The flood destroyed several homes and killed seven people, including a toddler and a pregnant woman. An independent civil investigation attributed several possible conditions and practices that may have led to the dam failure: The

State of Hawaii Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only state ...

did not adequately inspect the dam and did not have enough dam inspectors to cover all of the antiquated dams in the state. The owner of the dam (James Pflueger) performed grading operations near the dam without permits and may have filled in the emergency

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure tha ...

for the dam. Neither the current nor prior owners of the dam maintained the dam adequately.Finally, the County of Kauai knew about the unpermitted grading operation, but did not enforce a stop-work order. On November 21, 2008, James Pflueger was

indicted An indictment ( ) is a formal accusation that a person has committed a crime. In jurisdictions that use the concept of felonies, the most serious criminal offence is a felony; jurisdictions that do not use the felonies concept often use that of an ...

for

manslaughter Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...

and

reckless endangerment Endangerment is a type of crime involving conduct that is wrongful and reckless or wanton, and likely to produce death or grievous bodily harm to another person. There are several kinds of endangerment, each of which is a criminal act that can b ...

in relation to the dam failure. Pflueger's lawyer claimed that the indictment was an attempt by the state of Hawaii to deflect its own responsibility in the matter. On August 4, 2009, it was reported that a settlement between the parties of all civil cases has been agreed upon, pending judicial review. On July 17, 2013, Pflueger entered a plea of no contest to reckless endangering in a deal with prosecutors. In exchange for the plea, state prosecutors agreed to drop seven manslaughter counts. In December 2021,

Mark Zuckerberg Mark Elliot Zuckerberg (; born ) is an American business magnate, internet entrepreneur, and philanthropist. He is known for co-founding the social media website Facebook and its parent company Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.), o ...

purchased 110 acres surrounding Ka Loko reservoir. He stated his attention to fulfill the legal requirements for the property.

External links and references

* * * * {{authority control Reservoirs in Hawaii Lakes of Hawaii Dams in Hawaii Floods in the United States 2006 disasters in the United States Bodies of water of Kauai Dam failures in the United States Disasters in Hawaii Buildings and structures in Kauai County, Hawaii 2006 in Hawaii Trials in the United States