State of the Beach/State Reports/HI/Water Quality

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Hawaii Ratings
Indicator Type Information Status
Beach Access87
Water Quality76
Beach Erosion9-
Erosion Response-6
Beach Fill5-
Shoreline Structures5 3
Beach Ecology4-
Surfing Areas108
Website6-
Coastal Development{{{19}}}{{{20}}}
Sea Level Rise{{{21}}}{{{22}}}

Water Quality Monitoring Program

BEACH Act
The Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health Act (BEACH Act) signed into law on October 10, 2000, amends the federal Clean Water Act (CWA), incorporating provisions intended to reduce the risk of illness to users of the Nation's recreational waters. The BEACH Act authorizes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to award program development and implementation grants to eligible States, Territories, Tribes, and local governments to support microbiological testing and monitoring of coastal recreation waters, including the Great Lakes, that are adjacent to beaches or similar points of access used by the public. BEACH Act grants also provide support for development and implementation of programs to notify the public of the potential exposure to disease-causing microorganisms in coastal recreation waters. EPA encourages coastal States and Territories to apply for BEACH Act Grants for Program Implementation (referred to as Implementation Grants) to implement effective and comprehensive coastal recreation water monitoring and public notification programs. CWA section 406(i) authorizes appropriations of up to $30 million per year to develop and implement beach programs. Unfortunately, only about one-third that amount has been authorized each year since the program's inception. In recent years, the total funding available for BEACH Act grants has been about $9.5 million. Funding beyond 2012 has been in jeopardy, since EPA's budget requests for this program in FY2013 and FY2014 were ZERO (money for testing in 2013 and 2014 was ultimately allocated as part of Continuing Resolutions to resolve the Federal Budget impasse) and there was also no money for beach testing in the FY2015 budget. Again, it was restored at the last minute as part of a Continuing Resolution. It is very discouraging to have to fight for this basic funding to protect the public's health at the beach every year. Thankfully, there is a growing movement to provide stable funding. Unfortunately, in 2017 the situation is even more dire. If available, funds are allocated to the states and territories based on a formula which uses three factors that are readily available and verifiable: (1) Length of beach season, (2) miles of beach and (3) number of people that use the beaches. Hawaii was eligible for a $309,000 grant in fiscal year 2016. An estimated $580,000 in state funds was spent in 2007 to support nine of the staff members in the beach monitoring program. More recently, due to state budget cuts the Department of Health’s Clean Water Branch has now lost 4 of its 5 water quality monitoring staff on Oahu. This is a big liability for Hawaii because they are so dependent on tourism, and need to make sure the waters are monitored and protected from waterborne diseases.


Portions of the following discussion are taken from NRDC's report Testing the Waters, A Guide to Water Quality at Vacation Beaches, June 2011.


Hawaii has more than 400 public beaches stretching along nearly 300 miles of Pacific Ocean coastline. Its beachwater monitoring program is administered by the Clean Water Branch of the Hawaii Department of Health.

Hawaii funded a project that concluded in 2010 in which wastewater plumes off the island of Maui were identified. These wastewater plumes result from municipal wastewater that is being injected into wells. The Maui Chapter of Surfrider Foundation has joined other environmental and community groups in initiating legal action over this practice.

This year, DOH is working with the Kauai chapter of the Surfrider Foundation to investigate the presence of wastewater constituents in the waters of Nawiliwili Bay. In addition to identifying the species responsible for fecal indicator bacteria found in bay waters, sampling will be conducted for two human pharmaceuticals, carbamazepine (an anticonvulsant) and sulfamethoxazole (an antibiotic). These pharmaceuticals are present in wastewater and are not destroyed during wastewater treatment, which makes them useful indicators for the presence of wastewater effluent.

In response to a tsunami warning in late February 2010, the County of Maui shut down power to all low-lying coastal wastewater pumps. If power were not shut down and a tsunami had hit, there would have been extensive damage to pumps, and sewage would have flowed to the ocean. As soon as the all-clear was given, pumps were turned on, but not before four pump stations experienced minor overflows. A 7-day sewage warning was issued for more than 16 miles of beach.

Mokauea Island was under warning nearly every day in 2010. This island is located in Ke’ehi Lagoon, where several homes were directly discharging sewage into the ocean. All of the homes that are currently occupied now have a dry compost system, and beachwater sampling around the island will verify whether these systems are working properly. Hawaii does not list the beach on this island as a BEACH Act beach because of accessibility constraints.


Monitoring

Sampling Practices: The monitoring season in this tropical state is year-round.

Sampling practices, locations, standards, and notification protocols and practices are uniform throughout the state. Samples are taken 1 foot below the surface in water that is knee to waist deep. Hawaii’s beach monitoring program prioritizes sampling efforts based on the risk of illness to swimmers and the frequency of use. Tier 1 beaches are Hawaii’s important and threatened beaches and (except for Oahu) were monitored three times a week in 2010. Tier 2 beaches are moderate-use beaches and were sampled once or twice a week for 6 months at a time. If a Tier 2 beach shows periodic elevated counts for no obvious reason, it is sampled once or twice a week for another 6 months or is elevated to Tier 1 status. If a beach does not have a high likelihood of contamination and has consistently low fecal indicator counts, then it is assigned Tier 3 status and is sampled at least once every six months. Circumstances such as inaccessibility, sampler illness or vacation, or lab closure may prevent these frequencies from being maintained. For instance, because of reductions in budget and manpower, the beaches on Oahu were not sampled at these frequencies in 2010. Instead, Oahu’s Tier 1 beaches were sampled at least once a week, and Tier 2 and 3 beaches were unmonitored.

If a warning is issued, daily monitoring is performed until bacteria levels no longer exceed action levels, and the beach is reopened. States that monitor more frequently after an exceedance is found will tend to have higher percent exceedance rates and lower total warning/advisory days than they would if their sampling frequency did not increase after an exceedance was found.


Warnings and Advisories

Standards and Procedures: Hawaii’s Department of Health does not have the authority to close beaches; instead, it posts warnings and issues advisories. In 2009 Hawaii began using a single-sample maximum standard of 104 cfu/100ml (for beaches that are not sampled at least five times a month) and a geometric mean standard of 35 cfu/100ml (for beaches that are sampled at least five times a month). Hawaii also uses quantitative information about the presence of Clostridium perfringens (a tracer for human sewage) when making beach warning decisions.

At beaches that are monitored at least five times a month, a warning is posted when the enterococcus geometric mean is exceeded and the Clostridium perfringens count exceeds its level of action. When these standards are exceeded, the rule is absolute: There are no overriding factors that can be taken into account before an advisory is issued. For beaches that are monitored less frequently than five times a month, a beach is resampled before posting a warning based on the singlesample maximum standard, unless the cause of the exceedance was noted by the sampler.

Preemptive rainfall advisories are issued when a flood warning from the National Weather Service indicates that there will be a discharge of a significant quantity of turbid stormwater into coastal areas. When a storm event does not generate a flood warning but creates turbid waters with debris and possibly dead animals in near-shore waters, a preemptive rainfall advisory may be issued. These preemptive rainfall advisories, called brown water advisories, can be issued statewide, island-wide, or for specific areas of one island. If a sewage spill is suspected or if there are indications of human fecal contamination, the beach is posted immediately and a sample is taken.


When beachwater samples are found to exceed standards, a sanitary survey is performed. If the sanitary survey does not reveal the source of the contamination, Hawaii’s beach program initiates what they call the Kualoa Procedure. They sample several locations along the beach to locate the area of highest bacterial contamination. If the source of contamination cannot be found after pinpointing the area of greatest contamination, they test for human health pharmaceuticals, wastewater compounds, and isotopes of nitrogen that are found in sewage sludge. These chemicals are not present if waterfowl are the source of elevated bacteria levels.

Hawaii tests for human health pharmaceuticals, wastewater compounds, and isotopes of nitrogen that are found in sewage sludge if the source of elevated bacteria levels cannot be found. The pharmaceuticals cotinine (a metabolite of nicotine), carbamazepine (an anticonvulsant and mood stabilizing drug used primarily in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder), and sulfamethoxazole (an antibiotic) have been detected in Hawaii’s ocean waters. Wastewater chemicals that have been detected are 4-nonylphenol, 5-methyl-1H-benzotriazole, bisphenol, triphenyl phosphate, and tri(dichloroisopropyl) phosphate. Nitrogen isotopes associated with sewage have also been detected.


It should be noted that Hawaii excludes certain waters of the state from their monitoring program, since they don't meet the definition of coastal recreational waters in the BEACH Act:

"Section 502(21)(B) explicitly excludes from the definition of coastal recreational waters “inland waters; or ...waters upstream of the mouth of a river or stream having an unimpaired natural connection with the open sea.” In Hawaii, drainage canals, Commercial and Boat Harbors are also not designated for swimming, bathing, surfing, or similar water contact activities. Therefore, Ala Wai Canal, and harbors in the State are not considered recreational waters in this report."


Hawaii's recreational water quality standards generally mirror the federal BEACH Act. Also see Hawaii Administrative Rules, Chapter 11-55.


As noted above, HDOH uses Clostridium perfringens as a secondary indicator. Following is their rationale.

"DOH believes that enterococcus alone is not a good indicator organism for ocean water pollution that may affect human health, since there are other sources of enterococcus in the environment besides human fecal matter. Consequently, it may be difficult to determine human fecal contamination when other sources are present. Dr. Fujioka at the University of Hawaii has been studying this problem since about the mid-1980s. He has found that Clostridia perfringens is a much more human fecal-specific indicator because it is anaerobic (thus not prone to replication in the environment like enterococcus), and there are fewer non-human sources of Clostridia than of enterococcus (non-human sources of enterococcus include pigeons, which are very numerous in Hawaii). HDOH believes that used together, enterococcus and C. perfringens give a much clearer picture of where there is human fecal contamination (from the C. perfringens) and what the health risk from recreational contact is (from enterococcus). Based on this, DOH proposed to include both indicators in the standards. EPA believes that C. perfringens should not be used as an indicator because it has not been shown to correlate to any type of illness. Further, they believe that if both indicators were included in the standard, then actions should be taken when either indicator exceeds the standard. HDOH believes this would be counter-productive since the purpose of including the second standard was to eliminate potential false positive readings that they believe are inherent with enterococcus, not to introduce additional false positives. Therefore, it was decided to leave the bacterial indicator unchanged, and C. perfringens was not included as an official part of the EPA monitoring program, although DOH does use C. perfringens to assist in determining when to post health warning signs at a beach."[1]


HDOH has developed a rather complicated "Decision Rule" that is based on the results of monitoring for both enterococcus and C. perfringens. Beaches are classified as:

  • "In Compliance" - less than Single Sample Maximum (SSM)(100 CFU/100 ml) and geo-mean standard (35 CFU/100 ml) for enterococcus and 5 CFU/100 ml limit for C. perfringens
  • "Alert" - If two successive enterococcus samples are greater than 35 CFU/100 ml.
  • "Watch" - If geo-mean of five successive enterococcus samples is greater than 35 CFU/100 ml OR one C. perfringens sample is greater than 15 CFU or two successive samples are greater than 7 CFU or three successive samples are greater than 5 CFU/ 100 ml OR the enterococcus level is greater than the SSM of 100 CFU/100 ml.
  • "Warning" - If four successive enterococcus samples exceed 35 CFU/100 ml AND four successive C. perfringens samples exceed 5 CFU/100 ml AND two successive enterococcus samples exceed the SSM of 100 CFU/100 ml.
  • "Posted" - If five successive enterococcus samples exceed 35 CFU/100 ml AND five successive C. perfringens samples exceed 5 CFU/100 ml AND three successive enterococcus samples exceed the SSM of 100 CFU/100 ml.
Picture of a Honolulu city sign warning of sewage contamination, with Waikiki hotels and Diamond Head in background. Photo by Wikimedia Commons user KeithH.

For a "Warning", the required action is "Initiate Notification Guidelines. Resample immediately." For "Posted", the action is "Post beach; resample and conduct sanitary survey. Maintain posting of beach; check signs morning and afternoon and sample daily."


The Clean Water Branch (CWB) posts monitoring data on their Clean Water Branch website. Water Quality Advisories for each island are posted on the CWB website. Finally, sampling sites are shown for each island, with the beach stations, a map and a photo of each site.


Surfrider Foundation's Kauai and Maui Chapters post water quality monitoring data for those islands. Check out these sites before heading to the beach!


Water Quality Standards Maps were published by the Office of Environmental Planning, Department of Health in October 1987. They are provided for general information only in pdf format and are to be used in conjunction with Hawaii Department of Health, Hawaii Administrative Rules, Chapter 11-54, Water Quality Standards for receiving water classifications.


Local community groups, including the Hanalei Watershed Hui (HWH) on Kauai and Surfrider's Kauai Chapter test local favorite beaches and surf sites for bacterial contamination. Testing was originally conducted by HWH using grant funding. After the funding ran out, DOH Clean Water Branch (CWB) entered into an agreement to pay HWH to pick up water samples and gather water quality data for CWB in the Hanalei area following CWB QA/QC protocols and deliver/meet CWB staff and have the samples analyzed at the DOH lab in Lihue. This arrangement was in place for about three years. CWB is now providing testing supplies to the Surfrider Kauai chapter so that they can monitor surf sites on Kauai.


A local community-based group on Oahu, the Kailua Bay Advisory Council (KBAC), is working together with communities to improve water quality in the Ko'olaupoko Watersheds. KBAC has constructed a "Ko'olaupoko Water Quality Information Database" that summarizes Ko'olaupoko water quality data from Waimanalo to Kualoa.


On the Big Island, the Hilo Bay Watershed Advisory Group (HBWAG) is an advocate for the protection and sustainability of the Hilo Bay Watershed ecology. The Group serves the community by fostering cooperation, facilitating education and outreach, and applying scientifically based methods to collect and share watershed and water quality information.

Water Quality Contacts

Hawaii Department of Health

Clean Water Branch (Monitoring, Permitting, and Enforcement)

919 Ala Moana Blvd., Room 301

Honolulu, HI 96814-4920

Phone: (808) 586-4309

Alec Wong

Dale Mikami

Watson Okubo


Hawaii Department of Health

Environmental Planning Office (Water Quality Standards)

919 Ala Moana Blvd., Third Floor

Honolulu, HI 96814-4920

Phone: (808) 586-4337

Harold Lao


Kailua Bay area

Kai Okiwe

KBAC Community Coordinator

Phone: (808) 277-5611

Beach Closures

Storm drains and flood control channels are permanently posted. Posting of swimming health advisories, using 14" x 20" signs, is immediate and does not depend on lab results. The department does not always close a beach if the standard has been exceeded, but instead relies on additional factors, such as the presence of raw sewage, when determining whether conditions warrant a beach closure.


NRDC reported:

Total closing/advisory days for 1,028 events lasting six consecutive weeks or less increased 79% to 4,215 days in 2010 from 2,352 days in 2009. For prior years, there were 2,766 days in 2008, 4,134 days in 2007, 6,507 days in 2006, and 2,228 days in 2005. In addition, there was one permanent event (362 days) and no extended events in 2010. Extended events are those in effect more than six weeks but not more than 13 consecutive weeks; permanent events are in effect for more than 13 consecutive weeks. Essentially all (96%) of the advisories in 2010 were preemptive due to rain (what Hawaii calls “brown water advisories”). To calculate the number of advisory days, NRDC applied the duration of each rain advisory. Hawaii and the EPA did not report these advisories by beach, but rather by island or area. NRDC applied the duration of each rain advisory to each beach in the designated area. Four percent (179) of closing/advisory days in 2010 were preemptive (i.e. without waiting for monitoring results) due to known sewage spills/leaks and <1% (4) were preemptive due to other reasons.

Beach Closure Data

Year Beach Days Affected by Closings/Advisories
2010 4215
2009 2352
2008 2766
2007 4134
2006 6507
2005 2228
2004 1169
2003 0
2002 52
2001 11
2000 15

Source: NRDC, 2011


NRDC reported:

In 2010, Hawaii reported 463 coastal beaches, 43 (9%) of which were monitored more than once a week, 13 (3%) once a week, 90 (19%) every other week, 18 (4%) once a month, 4 (<1%) less than once a month; 288 (62%) were not monitored and 7 (2%) had no data for monitoring frequency. For this section of the report, NRDC looked at the percent of monitoring samples that exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards (all reported samples were used to calculate the 2010 percent exceedance rates, including duplicate samples and samples taken outside the official beach season, if any). In 2010, 3% of all reported beach monitoring samples exceeded the state’s daily maximum bacterial standards. The beaches with the highest percent exceedance rates in 2010 were Lumaha’i Beach (29%), Kalihiwai Bay (27%), Waimea Rec. Pier St. Pk. (24%), Hanalei Beach Co. Park (15%), and Kekaha Beach Co. Pk. (12%), all in Kauai County. Kauai County had the highest exceedance rate (8%) in 2010 followed by Maui (2%), the Hawaii (2%), and Honolulu (1%) counties.


In May 2011, U.S. EPA released its latest data about beach closings and advisories for the 2010 swimming season. Note that for some states the data is incomplete, making state-to-state or year-to-year comparisons difficult.

The EPA has additional information on water quality in Hawaii. Their Fact Sheet reports that most of Hawaii's waterbodies have variable water quality due to stormwater runoff. During dry weather, most streams and estuaries have good water quality that fully supports beneficial uses, but the quality declines when stormwater runoff carries pollutants into surface waters.


The United States Geological Survey (USGS) maintains a website, Water Resources of the Pacific Islands. This site is a valuable source of information including current projects, online reports, publications, and maps, real-time water conditions, and educational outreach material for teachers and students.


University of Hawaii Sea Grant is also a source of information on water quality in Hawaii.

Storm Drains and Sewage Outfalls

Sewage Outfalls and Sewage Treatment

There are six sewage outfalls (one each in Sand Island, Fort Kamehameha [military facility], Honouliuli, Mokapu Peninsula, Waianae and Hawaii Kai [East Honolulu, a private facility] in marine waters on the island of Oahu. One inland outfall (Wahiawa Reservoir) discharges effluent that flows to marine waters at Kaiaka Bay.


One outfall is located in Wailua (at Lydgate Park) on the island of Kauai. The island of Hawaii (Big Island) has three outfalls. The Hilo outfall is near Puhi Bay. The Papaikou and Kalaimano Outfalls discharge over cliffs. Maui only has an emergency outfall that goes into injection wells.[2]


Both the Honouliuli plant in Ewa and the Sand Island plant operate under waivers from the requirements of the federal Clean Water Act for full secondary treatment. These plants process sewage using primary treatment, which consists of physical and gravity separation of liquids and solids and then process a portion of the wastewater flow using secondary and tertiary treatment to allow irrigation and industrial reuse. These two plants and one in San Diego, California are the only major sewage treatment facilities in EPA's Region 9 that still operate under a section 301(h) waiver from the requirements of the Clean Water Act.


The Honouliuli plant treats about 27 million gallons of raw wastewater daily and discharges treated water via a Barbers Point deep ocean outfall. The discharge point is at a depth of about 200 feet and is approximately 8,760 feet offshore. The Honouliuli plant has a secondary and tertiary treatment process that can process up to 13 million and 12 million gallons daily, respectively. It serves 340,000 people and processes sewage and other wastewater from residences and businesses in areas including Waipahu, Pearl City and Halawa, as well as waste from liquid waste haulers and sludge hauled from the Wahiawa and Pa'ala'a Kai wastewater treatment plants. The Honouliuli plant is operating under an EPA permit issued in May 1991. The city applied to renew the permit in December 1995, and the permit has been administratively extended since 1996. The city updated the application in 2000 and in August 2004. In January 2009 the EPA issued a decision to not renew the waivers for the two sewage treatment plants.


In August 2009 Kauai County officials issued a request for proposals to expand the Waimea wastewater treatment plant. The project is expected to cost about $12 million, with $7 million is coming from federal stimulus money through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, and the balance financed through the county's capital improvement program. Built in the 1970s, the plant has a capacity of 300,000 gallons per day. It is currently operating at 90 percent capacity. Because it is near capacity, the county is restricting new sewer service connections in the area.


In February of 2009, the USS Port Royal was grounded on a reef off the Honolulu International Airport’s reef runway. Upon investigation, the beach program learned that the Port Royal had discharged sewage while grounded without notifying the state, and that Navy ships may be discharging sewage to Hawaiian waters on a regular basis without notification.


Heavy rains in early November 2007 contributed to a 2 million gallon sewer spill from the shipyard area of the Naval Base into Pearl Harbor on Oahu. During the same rainy period, the Hawaii Department of Health Clean Water Branch issued a "Brown Water Advisory" for the island of Oahu due to "rainfall runoff that may contain pollutants from overflowing cesspools, sewer manholes, animal wastes, pesticides, and associated flood debris."


Major sewer spills occurred on Oahu in early 2006. A sewer spill in Honolulu due to a line break released an estimated 48 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal and closed beaches in Waikiki. Following the sewage spill, Surfrider Foundation's Oahu Chapter held public meetings and formed a Wastewater Spill Response Committee that meets to improve Oahu’s water quality and reduce the impact of future spills.


On Maui, poor maintenance of sewage treatment facilities in the 1990s resulted in hundreds of sewage leaks onto land, streets and streams, in some cases contaminating beaches. In 1999, EPA and the State of Hawaii reached a settlement with Maui County ensuring better maintenance to prevent sewage spills. Maui also agreed to undertake a $600,000 project to expand the use of treated wastewater for irrigation, thus extending the island's limited supply of fresh water. EPA settled a similar case with Oahu County in 1994.


Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle submitted a supplemental budget request in January 2004 that earmarked $18.2 million for capital improvements at the Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant. The improvements will allow the plant to operate at its full design capacity (1.1 million gallons per day) while protecting the public's health and the environment.


The budget request also included $14 million for statewide improvements at state parks. The largest portion of this is $9 million for cesspool replacement. Twenty-four of Hawaii's 54 state parks have large capacity cesspools that need to be replaced by April 5, 2005 as a result of a December 7, 1999 U.S. EPA rule.


In June 2010, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued penalty orders fining the County of Hawaii and the owner of Johnson Resort Properties for failing to close large-capacity cesspools, which have been banned since April 2005. As noted above, EPA issued a compliance order to the County of Hawaii in 2005 to require closure of 30 large-capacity cesspools. Two of the cesspools accepted untreated waste from 27 residences in the Komohana Heights Subdivision in Hilo. The County failed to close the Komohana Heights cesspools by the required deadline. However, they subsequently installed a new wastewater collection system to connect the homes to the existing county sewer. The County also provided service to 14 additional homes served by individual small-capacity cesspools, which are not prohibited by EPA’s regulations. The County of Hawaii will pay a $40,700 penalty for failing to meet the cesspool closure deadline.


Additionally, EPA has settled with Johnson Resort Properties and its owner, Robert Johnson, for failing to close three large-capacity cesspools that service two apartment buildings in Kona. The settlement with Mr. Johnson will result in a supplemental environmental project (SEP) to install an advanced wastewater treatment system for the apartments. The system will provide tertiary treatment of all domestic wastewater from the properties prior to underground injection, and will result in a significantly greater level of treatment than required by state law. As a result of the greater environmental benefit associated with the SEP, EPA agreed to reduce Mr. Johnson’s penalty; he will pay an administrative fine of $17,500.


A large-capacity cesspool is one that discharges untreated sewage from multiple dwellings, or a non-residential location that serves 20 or more people per day. Cesspools are used more widely in Hawaii than in any other state. Cesspools discharge raw sewage to the ground, allowing disease-causing pathogens and other contaminants to potentially pollute groundwater, streams and the ocean. Federal regulations, which prohibit large-capacity cesspools as of April 2005, do not apply to single-family homes connected to their own individual cesspools.


The following is a quotation from the book "Atlas of Hawaii, 3rd Edition", edited by Sonia P. Juvik and James O. Juvik, University of Hawaii Press, 1998, pg. 300:

"Sewage treatment levels vary throughout the state, although most collected sewage is subjected to secondary treatment. On Maui tertiary treatment levels are achieved, while at two major facilities on Oahu sewage receives only primary treatment before being discharged via outfalls into the ocean. Large areas of most islands remain without sewerage systems, and wastes are discharged into cesspools or septic tanks."


The use of septic tanks and cesspools in coastal areas has raised concerns about potential bacterial contamination affecting those recreating in adjacent waters and also about nutrients from untreated sewage promoting algae growth on coral reefs.


In July 2007 the Maui County Council heard a presentations on two reports that had been published earlier in the year - one on rampant algae growth on reefs around Maui and the other on evidence suggesting links between the algae and wastewater injection wells. The presentation caused at least one Council Member to demand that the state close down injection wells used to dispose of treated wastrewater near the shoreline. In April 2010 County Council members debated proposals to require the Department of Environmental Management to come up with a plan to recycle more wastewater and conduct sampling for water contamination before spending money to rehabilitate existing injection wells. The Maui County Website has information and answers to frequently-asked questions on the use of injection wells for wastewater disposal.


Counties have mapped most of the locations of storm drains and sewage outfalls. These maps are updated annually and are available to the public. It is obvious from the number of contacts below that responsibility for these is spread across a number of offices in the Department of Health and each individual county.


Cruise Ships

Ocean pollution caused by sewage and “graywater” releases from cruise ships is a growing concern. More information on this subject can be found at the website of KAHEA (The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance). The cruise ship information can be found here.


Increasing traffic from cruise ships and a new "super ferry" have raised concerns about harbor expansions at Kahului Harbor on Maui and elsewhere. An organization on Maui that is concerned about the impacts of a harbor expansion is Save Kahului Harbor. The organization is also concerned about bacterial infections that may be related to exposure exposure to sewage-contaminated ocean water.

Water Quality Contact (Runoff and Outfalls)

Sewage Outfall and Storm Drain Contact Information:

  • Department of Health: Sanitation Branch: (808) 586-8000
  • Department of Health: Wastewater Branch: (808) 586-4294
  • Department of Health: Clean Water Branch: (808) 586-4309
  • Department of Health: Environmental Planning Office: (808) 586-4337
  • Department of Health: Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response Office (808) 586-4394
  • Hawaii County Public Works: (808) 961-8338
  • City and County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services (808) 527-6663
  • Kauai County Public Works (808) 241-6616
  • Maui County Public Works (808) 243-7414


Information on Hawaii's Polluted Runoff Control Program can be found here.


Information on the Hawaii DLNR Commission on Water Resources Management can be found here.

Perception of Causes

HDOH staff contacted by Surfrider Foundation indicated they felt that the water quality indicators the state uses do not accurately represent water quality. Also, staff and lab support lack necessary funding. The funding situation became acute in 2009 due to the weak economy and other factors. Four of the six Honolulu monitoring staff and clerical staff were scheduled for layoff on November 13, 2009.[3]


Hawaii funded a study on Maui that is a continuation of “proof of concept” reconnaissance methods for wastewater and nutrient source tracking in recreational waters. Multiple wastewater tracers were detected in marine water column and algae samples at Kihei and Lahaina. In a separate source-tracking research effort, monitoring data from 2008 were used to identify several possible sites for a Water Environment Research Foundation-funded study.


Hawaii's 305(b) and 303(d) water quality reports are available for 2006.


Harmful algal blooms are rare in Hawaii, and there is no monitoring program for detecting them. Cases of ciguatera fish poisoning, which is caused by consuming fish that have concentrated levels of ciguatoxin, have been documented. Ciguatoxin is produced by microorganisms that live in tropical waters and is found in greater concentrations in fish that are at higher levels in the food chain. The Department of Health warns people to refrain from eating reef fish in affected areas when cases of ciguatera poisoning are reported. Nearly 300 cases of ciguatera poisoning were reported in Hawaii between 1998 and 2002.


The Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) is a National Ocean Service/National Center for Coastal Ocean Science program operating in ten coastal states with the ultimate goal of linking laboratory scientists to the general public. PMN's seven goals are:

  • To create a comprehensive list of harmful algal species inhabiting coastal marine waters
  • To monitor and maintain an extended survey area along coastal waters throughout the year
  • To isolate areas prone to harmful algal blooms (HABs) for further study by Marine Biotoxins researchers
  • To identify general trends, such as time and area, where HABs are more likely to occur
  • To promote increased awareness and education to the public, particularly students, on HABs
  • To increase the public's awareness of research conducted by federal and state workers on HABs
  • To create a working relationship with open communication between volunteers and researchers through PMN

Public Education

Hawaii’s beach monitoring program participates in numerous elementary school environmental fairs and beach cleanup events, educating the public about actions they can take to reduce beachwater pollution. The state has an ongoing storm drain stenciling project that warns people not to throw trash into storm drains because it will end up in the ocean. In addition, Hawaii uses public service announcements (video and audio), brochures, signs, and their Clean Water Branch website to educate the public about water quality issues.


The Kailua Bay Advisory Council (KBAC) website was mentioned above. Their Educational Resources page has a lot of useful information regarding Best Management Practices (BMPs), which are actions anyone can take to improve water quality. There is also useful information on water quality parameters.


The Surfrider Foundation Oahu Chapter has been organizing monthly beach clean-ups for over a decade. Also helping to clean Oahu beaches are the City and County of Honolulu, Da Hui/Wolfpack, Sierra Club, Ocean Conservancy (Get the Drift and Bag It), Sea Turtles International, KailuaBay.org, NOAA Marine Debris Program, Lanikai Association, many schools, lifeguards, and other groups. Surfrider Foundation chapters on Maui, Kauai and the Big Island help clean their island beaches with an assortment of other groups.


Beach Environmental Awareness Campaign Hawai`i (B.E.A.C.H.) is a non-profit, volunteer organization concerned with bringing awareness and solutions to the problem of marine debris and litter on Hawai`i’s beaches. B.E.A.C.H. co-ordinates beach clean-ups, litter prevention campaigns and presentations to schools and community organizations in order to educate and bring awareness to the need to care for Hawai`i’s beaches, coastline and marine life.


Marine Debris

In January 2010, NOAA and several partners in Hawaii announced a comprehensive long-term plan to actively assess and remove plastics, derelict fishing gear, and other human sources of marine debris from coastal waters and coral reefs along the island chain. The plan, a first of its kind for the nation, will be instrumental in protecting the state’s coastal communities and marine life from the thousands of pounds of marine debris that wash ashore each year. In the preceding two years, numerous governmental, non-governmental, academic, industry, and private business partners from across the state worked alongside NOAA’s Marine Debris Program to develop the Hawaii Marine Debris Action Plan. Building on significant ongoing and past marine debris community efforts, the plan establishes a comprehensive and cooperative framework for marine debris activities and projects across the state to reduce:

  • the current backlog of marine debris;
  • the number of abandoned and derelict vessels;
  • land-based debris in waterways; and
  • fishing gear and solid waste disposal at sea


Numerous strategies and activities fall under each of these goal areas, many of them already underway by Hawaii’s marine debris partners. These include debris removal efforts, emergency response, prevention and outreach campaigns as well as increasing research and technology development. Progress will be tracked and measured for each of these areas.


The HCMP contracted for the development of a workbook LID Hawaii: Practitioner’s Guide covering building and site design techniques for managing stormwater, drainage, and small-scale wastewater systems to reduce nonpoint pollution. A technical workshop was held in each county and in addition, the contractor held several meetings with county staff to discuss LID approaches and county concerns and restrictions.


The HCMP hired a contractor to develop guidance on the various treatment and disposal systems available. The Onsite Wastewater Treatment Survey and Assessment describes the advantages and constraints of different systems, to assist practitioners with choosing the best system for a site. From the report:

"Individual Wastewater System (IWS) permit requests in the State almost quadrupled between 2002 and 2006, indicating increasing development in areas—primarily rural areas—not served by public or private sewer systems. Residential and commercial development in rural areas require reliable and effective onsite wastewater treatment systems; therefore, there is a need for public education on the capabilities and limitations of onsite wastewater treatment systems (OWTS). Unlike centralized treatment works and disposal systems, there is currently no official guidance in the selection of an appropriate onsite wastewater system for a given site in Hawaii."


The HCMP has provided funding to the Hilo Bay Watershed Advisory Group to develop a water quality monitoring program and a website to bring the community together to understand and protect the ecology of the Hilo Bay Watershed.


General Reference Documents


EPA has compiled several NPS (Nonpoint Source) Outreach Products that are a selection of television, radio, and print products on nonpoint source pollution that have been developed by various agencies and organizations around the country. They are good examples of outreach in the mass media. Also see What You Can Do.

NOAA, in partnership with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, International City/County Management Association and Rhode Island Sea Grant, has released an interagency guide that adapts smart growth principles to the unique needs of coastal and waterfront communities. Smart Growth for Coastal and Waterfront Communities builds on existing smart growth principles to offer 10 coastal and waterfront-specific guidelines that help manage development while balancing environmental, economic, and quality of life issues.


References

  1. Terry Teruya, DOH, written communication, December 13, 2002.
  2. Eugene Akasawa, personal communication. August 2, 2000.
  3. Surfrider Foundation 2002 State of the Beach Report survey response



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