A mix of muddy runoff and wastewater recently overflowed into the Pacific Ocean from Lahania and Napili, Hawaii, according to county officials. Local beachgoers are being told to keep out of potentially hazardous ocean waters.
In Lahaina, an unspecified amount of sewage washed into the ocean after a spill from near the city's wastewater treatment plant broke through a berm at Kaanapali's North Beach. The spill was initially trapped in an unpaved beach parking lot. But a temporary berm that held the flow gave way during heavy rainfall, and the untreated wastewater and storm water runoff spilled into the Pacific.
In Napili, a broken air relief valve at Napili Pump Station No. 2 caused a spill at Pohaku Beach Park, allowing an also unknown amount of wastewater to flow into the ocean. No wastewater reached the ocean, however, when approximately 1,500 gal of wastewater from the Kahului Wastewater Treatment Plant spilled onto and flooded a local roadway; the heavy rainfall sparked this overflow, as well.
County wastewater officials have notified the Hawaii Department of Health of the spill incidents and posted warning signs in affected areas. They have also warned residents not violate county code by removing manhole covers in an attempt to relieve flooding, and a Brown Water Advisory has been called into effect. "The public should also stay out of coastal waters impacted by storm water runoff near stream mouths and drainage ditches," said health department officials. "If the coastal water is brown, stay out."
While residents can avoid contaminated runoff and will see recovery in the near future, the environment may continue to suffer negative consequences from the wastewater spills. "There were tons and tons of sediment flowing into the ocean," said Hannah Bernard, a Maui marine specialist who runs the Hawaii Wildlife Fund. "The reefs are paying a bigger price than us on land."
"We have to stop pretending that it [a spill] won't happen and realize that we're on an island," she added. "We need to expect storms and be prepared."Source: Maui News
