Hawaii First Water

Maui County to appeal wastewater discharge case to US Supreme Court

April 2018: LAHAINA, MAUI (HawaiiNewsNow) –

Maui County could is gearing up for a legal battle over wastewater.

County officials say they will appeal its Lahaina wastewater case to the U.S. Supreme Court.

That’s after the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals Friday rejected the County’s petition to reconsider it’s February ruling that said the county violated the Clean Water Act.

Since the early 80s, Maui injected untreated sewage into wells that leaked into the ocean, causing environmental damage.

See the rest of the story here

Assessing Eutrophication Potential of a Freshwater Lake by Relating Its Bioproductivity and Biodiversity: A Case Study of Lake Wilson on Central Oahu, Hawaii

March 2018: University of Hawaii, Tsu Chuan Lee, Clark Liu.

Summary: The reduction of the biodiversity of a mesotrophic lake can be used in water quality management as a warning sign of an imminent algal bloom.

Algal bloom in a freshwater lake is a rapid increase of aquatic plants, which disrupts the ecological balance and its potential for beneficial uses. This problem has been managed by relating the trophic levels of a lake with nutrient loading. This traditional management approach is less than satisfactory as it neglects considering the intricate relationship between nutrient loading and the algal community. As a result, it often fails to detect an imminent algal bloom and fails to formulate and implement timely remedial measures. The advancement of modern molecular biosciences has provided an opportunity to improve this traditional approach. In this study, field and laboratory experiments on lake bioproductivity and biodiversity were conducted in Lake Wilson on central Oahu, Hawaii. Bioproductivity or algal productivity was evaluated in terms of the rate of chlorophyll growth in the lake water, and the biodiversity or genetic biodiversity was evaluated by using the method of denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of the algae species and the Shannon index. Research results indicated that eukaryote communities in Lake Wilson were more diverse under the mesotrophic state of algal productivity than those under the oligotrophic and eutrophic states. Therefore, the reduction of the biodiversity of a mesotrophic lake can be used in water quality management as a warning sign of an imminent algal bloom

U.S. Household Water Use Continues to Decline…

(December/Kobayashi Comment:  This trend is also seen in Hawaii although Hawaii’s population growth will likely erode this decline in the future.)

By Brett Walton, Circle of Blue:

Continuing a trend that began in the early 1990s with tighter federal plumbing standards, U.S. household water use dropped again in 2015.

When assessing national figures, there are two main ways to gauge water use at home: the amount used per person and total water use, which incorporates changes in population. By both measures, water use is declining, according to the latest report from the U.S. Geological Survey, the agency that gathers national data every five years.

For people served by public and private utilities, water use for cooking, drinking, showering, lawn watering, car washing, and other household tasks dropped to an average of 83 gallons per person per day in 2015, down seven percent compared to 2010. Household use was 105 gallons per person per day in 1990.

Link for the rest of the article

AWWA/HWEA Pacific Water Conference

(November ) The American Water Works Association Hawai‘i Section and the Hawai‘i Water Environment Association are proud to announce the fifth annual joint conference now known as the Pacific Water Conference at the Hawai‘i Convention Center from February 6 – 8, 2018.  Our joint conference committee is hard at work to bring you an exciting, fun, and educational conference.

The Pre-Conference Workshop kicks things off on Tuesday, February 6. The Conference officially opens on Wednesday, February 7 and lasts through Thursday, February 8.  Join us at the Convention Center Kamehameha Exhibit Hall I to cheer on this year’s operator competitions featuring HWEA’s Operations Challenge and AWWA’s Pipe Tapping and Top Ops events.  Remember to check out the exhibitors showcasing the newest and latest products in the industry.  With five technical session tracks to choose from, there’s sure to be one that piques your interest.   The conference golf tournament will be held on Friday, February 9 at the Kapolei Golf Course, and the community service event will take place on Saturday, February 10.

Here is the link to register…

 

Endangered and Underfunded…

(October/ Editor Kobayashi Comment:  This is an excellent article on the extinction of vital plants from the islands which are essential for water retention and aquifer infiltration.  I have included an excerpt with a link to the actual article)

Hawaii has far more endangered species than any other state but has never gotten its share of federal funding. Now, budget cuts threaten the few programs we have.

Hawaii Business Magazine

October, 2017

“WHAT MAKES HAWAII MORE THAN YOUR PLANTS AND YOUR ENVIRONMENT?”

Nellie Sugii asks rhetorically. We’re standing in the downstairs room of the micropropagation laboratory at the Harold L. Lyon Arboretum in Manoa, where Sugii manages the Hawaiian Rare Plant Program. The room is full of test tubes. Inside, tiny clones of some of Hawaii’s most endangered plant species, many of them no bigger than a person’s fingertip, glow like green nuclei. Each year, hundreds of rare plant species are coaxed back from the brink of extinction here, grown in a solid nutrient solution that looks like clear Jell-O.

Eventually, these plants will go to a greenhouse down the hill and then to native forest restoration projects. At the moment, however, they are too fragile for the real world, a feeling compounded by the precarious setup: plastic trays of test tubes stacked on top of one another, balanced on thin wire shelves that nearly graze the ceiling. Sneeze, and you’d cause a half-dozen extinctions.

Started in 1992 as an orchid teaching lab, the micropropagation facility is a crucial component of the Plant Extinction Prevention Program (PEPP), a statewide effort to protect and preserve Hawaii’s most critically endangered plant species. If nature conservation is a hospital, PEPP is the emergency room. The program is led by Joan Yoshioka (who happens also to be trained as an actual nurse) and focuses exclusively on plants with fewer than 50 individuals left – in other words, those species closest to death.

Until the creation of PEPP in 2003, Hawaii was losing roughly one plant species per year. Over the past decade and a half, however, PEPP has reduced that number to zero. Of the 238 species that meet the program’s criteria, not one has gone extinct.

EXTINCTION IS PERMANENT. THERE IS NO BOUNCING BACK.”

-Joan Yoshioka, Statewide manager, Plant Extinction Prevention Program

But now, PEPP and the Rare Plant Program are in danger of becoming extinct themselves. Both rely heavily on federal funding through the Endangered Species Act, the landmark wildlife protection legislation. Last year, PEPP’s funding was cut by a third, Yoshioka says. This year, with President Trump proposing a 12 percent cut – approximately $1.5 billion – to the Department of the Interior, which funds the majority of endangered species recovery, Yoshioka anticipates even greater cuts, to the point where she is concerned for the program’s survival.

Link to the rest of the article is here…

More Cesspools in Hawaii Required to Close

HONOLULU, AUG 25, 2017 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced an agreement with the owner of two Big Island hardware stores and a commercial property to close four large-capacity cesspools (LCCs) at properties in Naalehu, Kamuela and Hilo, Hawaii. Cesspools can contaminate groundwater, and LCCs have been banned since 2005.

“Replacing these harmful cesspools with modern wastewater treatment systems will protect the Big Island’s drinking water and coastal resources,” said Alexis Strauss, EPA’s Acting Regional Administrator for the Pacific Southwest. “Our goal is to protect Hawaii’s waters by closing all large-capacity cesspools.”

In 2016, EPA found three cesspools during inspections at the Naalehu and Kamuela Housemart Ace Hardware stores, owned by Maui Varieties Investments, Inc. (MVI). MVI also voluntarily disclosed a fourth LCC at a separate commercial property that houses a farm supply store in Hilo.

MVI will be closing the two LCCs serving the Naalehu store and neighboring buildings and replacing the LCCs with wastewater treatment systems approved by the Hawaii Department of Health. The company will be closing the LCC at the Kamuela store and connecting it to a private sewer system. Finally, MVI will close the LCC at the commercial property in Hilo and connect it to the County of Hawaii’s sewer system. MVI will also pay a civil penalty of $134,000.

An LCC is a cesspool that serves multiple residential dwellings or a commercial facility with the capacity to serve 20 or more people per day. Cesspools collect and discharge waterborne pollutants like untreated raw sewage into the ground, where disease-causing pathogens can contaminate groundwater, streams and the ocean. LCCs were banned under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act in April 2005.

Cesspools are used more widely in Hawaii than in any other state, despite the fact that 95 percent of all drinking water in Hawaii comes from groundwater sources. Since the federal LCC ban took effect in 2005, over 3,400 large-capacity cesspools have been closed state-wide, many through voluntary compliance.

(Kona’s) Waiaha Deepwell’s return to service derailed by malfunction, cable break

Aug 2017, By Max Dible West Hawaii Today mdible@westhawaiitoday.com

KAILUA-KONA — The Hawaii County Department of Water Supply hoped by Monday to return 2 million gallons of water per day back to the short-handed North Kona water system.

After a significant setback over the weekend, those hopes now lie dashed alongside a new pump and motor — both likely damaged from the mishap — more than 1,700 feet underground at the bottom of the Waiaha Deepwell.

There is no timeline for when the well might again be operational.

“I don’t expect it in the near future at all,” said Keith Okamoto, DWS manager and chief engineer. “But it’s too early to tell how many months or whatever (it will be)….

…DWS discussed at the time possible procedures for strategic water disruptions, if such action proved necessary. Kim said it was compliance with the mandatory restriction from some of North Kona’s largest water consumers, as well as the community at large, that allowed everyone’s water to stay on. He said Monday he is hopeful those customers will maintain the same vigilance moving forward.

Repairs to the other three downed wells in the area remain on schedule, Okamoto said, and all are expected to return to service by the end of the year or sooner.

See the rest of the article here…

Bill to ban cesspools statewide awaits Governor’s signature

May 2017: HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) –

A measure heading to the governor’s desk would ban Hawaii’s nearly 90,000 cesspools by the year 2050, a move that some say would slow progress in bolstering the affordable housing inventory.

The bill comes a year after Gov. David Ige banned newly-constructed cesspools in the state.

“Cesspools, on average, release 55 million gallons of untreated sewage a day into streams, oceans and nearby waterways,” said Marti Townsend, director of Sierra Club of Hawaii. “That’s an extreme amount of untreated raw sewage that people end up swimming in, fishing from and maybe even drinking.”

Health officials say untreated sewage can be linked to skin infections and illnesses like Leptospirosis and Hepatitis A.

“Public health and safety is on the line,” said state Rep. Chris Lee. “We want clean waters, we want clean beaches, and this is a step in that direction.”

The state is offering a $10,000 tax credit to homeowners who convert to septic tanks, aerobic systems, or sewer lines.

See the rest of the story…

 

As sea level rises, much of Honolulu and Waikiki vulnerable to groundwater inundation

(Apr 2017) New research from the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa reveals a large part of the the heavily urbanized area of Honolulu and Waikīkī is at risk of groundwater inundation—flooding that occurs as groundwater is lifted above the ground surface due to sea level rise. Shellie Habel, lead author of the study and doctoral student in the Department of Geology and Geophysics, School of Ocean and Earth Science and Technology (SOEST), and colleagues developed a computer model that combines ground elevation, groundwater location, monitoring data, estimates of tidal influence and numerical groundwater-flow modeling to simulate future flood scenarios in the urban core as sea level rises three feet, as is projected for this century under certain climate change scenarios.

“This flooding will threaten $5 billion of taxable real estate; flood nearly 30 miles of roadway; and impact pedestrians, commercial and recreation activities, tourism, transportation and infrastructure,” said Habel. “The flooding will occur regardless of seawall construction, and thus will require innovative planning and intensive engineering efforts to accommodate standing water in the streets.”

Current problems with inundation

construction trench in Waikiki

This construction trench in Waikīkī shows that the water table is nearly at the ground surface at high tide. (credit: UH Mānoa Coastal Geology Group)

Simulations of groundwater inundation chart

Simulations of groundwater inundation (blue) and narrow unsaturated space (yellow) today and considering sea level rise of approximately 1, 2 and 3 ft during an average spring (monthly maximum) tide stage. (credit: UH Mānoa Coastal Geology Group)

Surprisingly, the team of researchers also discovered 86 percent of active cesspools in the study area are likely currently inundated by groundwater. This suggests that cesspool effluent is now entering coastal groundwater and coastal environments in the study area. Sea level rise of approximately three feet would fully inundate 39 cesspools, introducing effluent at the ground surface where people work and live. This presents a serious health concern that will become progressively more serious as contaminated waters begin breaching the ground surface.

They also found that the water table is close to the ground surface—within two feet at high tide—in many places. This narrow unsaturated space means that groundwater inundation will become a serious concern well before the end of the century. When it rains and infiltration fills this space, it is a problem already.

“Waikīkī, the gateway of the state’s tourism industry, currently has such narrow unsaturated space that many construction projects working below the ground surface have to dewater the excavation before construction can begin,” said Habel.

Adaptation to future sea level rise

“Our findings suggest that coastal communities in Hawaiʻi and globally are exposed to complex groundwater flooding hazards associated with sea level rise in addition to the typical concerns of coastal erosion and wave overtopping,” said Chip Fletcher, professor of geology and geophysics, associate dean of SOEST and principal investigator on the study. “Groundwater inundation will require entirely unique adaptation methods if we are to continue to live in and develop the coastal zone. Coastal planners and community stakeholders will need to work with architects, engineers, geologists, ecologists, economists, hydrologists and other innovative thinkers in order to manage these problems.”

This study identified particular locations and infrastructure that will be vulnerable to future flooding and is a crucial first step towards addressing future challenges. The team of researchers hope to use this methodology to identify future flooding and at risk infrastructure in other locations, as well as assist in developing adaptation efforts among vulnerable coastal communities.

This work was funded by Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Honolulu Board of Water Supply, UH Sea Grant and and HKL Castle Foundation.

Hawaii decision on water use could shutter billionaire’s Lanai golf course

February 2017; Shimogawa: Hawaii Business News: When the billionaire co-founder of Oracle Corp., Larry Ellison, purchased the majority of the Hawaiian island of Lanai for $300 million in 2012, there was at least one major unresolved issue on the Pineapple Island — the water used at the Manele Golf Course near the Four Seasons Resort Lanai.

Nearly five years later, the issue is still unresolved. But this year, a final decision could be made by the Hawaii Land Use Commission, which could ultimately change the land classification of the Manele Golf Course back to rural and agricultural districts from urban districts — and effectively shut down the course.

 Manele Golf Course is the only remaining major course on the island as the other course — Koele — which had been closed for renovations, will not reopen, as first reported by Pacific Business News. Ellison also has big plans for his Manele Golf Course, beyond just golf. The tech titan plans to hold up to 40 special events hosting hundreds of guests each year on two locations at Manele, as first reported by PBN.

In that year, the state Land Use Commission approved the reclassification of nearly 150 acres of land for the development of the 18-hole golf course. A condition of that ruling noted that Lanai Resorts, the entity that owned the course, could not use the potable water from the high-level groundwater aquifer for the golf course irrigation use. The ruling also said that the company will instead need to use only alternative non-potable sources of water such as brackish water and reclaimed sewage effluent for golf course irrigation requirements.

See the rest of the article here…