The state says staff from its Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation will begin removing storm-related pileup of debris from the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor at 1 p.m. today.

Following the torrential rains of mid-April, boaters at the state’s largest small boat harbor have been waiting for the state to clean up the accumulated debris.

The head of DOBOR put the clean-up project out to bid with private contractors, twice, according to a news release from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

In both instances, the bids were either too high or lacked the proper required paperwork. Instead of putting the project out to bid again, the state decided to take DOBOR maintenance staff away from their regular duties to conduct the clean-up.

The debris of the harbor came from the Ala Wai Canal upstream, according to the state, which added that the cleanup operation was funded by mooring fees, and not the state general fund.