Kalaeloa water project gains ground
By Scott Ishikawa
Advertiser Central OÎahu Writer
KALAELOA — Construction of the city's first major desalination plant would cost $40 million, with work on the facility beginning by the end of this year, according to a preliminary report that will be made available to the public this week.
Those and other details are included in an Environmental Impact Statement preparation notice being released Wednesday for the project near Campbell Industrial Park, which aims to convert salt water into drinking water. The document is considered a preview of the draft and final EIS to come out later this year.
The "seawater reverse osmosis" plant, which would be the largest desalination facility in Hawai'i, would produce up to 5 million gallons a day of fresh water for area customers, including Campbell Industrial Park, Kapolei Business Park and Kapolei. Construction would be completed by 2004.
The city has 36 months to make use of the 20-acre parcel off Olai Street that was part of the 1999 transfer of property from the Navy to the city and state when Barbers Point Naval Air Station shut down.
Barry Usagawa, principal executive of water resources for the Board of Water Supply, said the 'Ewa district, which includes 'Ewa by Gentry, 'Ewa Beach and Kapolei, uses about 14.5 million gallons of water per day.
"Right now, we have three area wells supplying water, with another proposed well to deal with the increasing demand," Usagawa said. "Providing an extra 5 million gallons per day would help ease that demand, and if you have a (water) main break, at least we'll have other sources in the area."
Usagawa said water officials are drilling exploratory wells to depths of 300 feet and 1,600 feet to pump out salt water as possible sources for the process.
"After the wells are completed, we're looking at about six months to analyze the water quality that will provide us data to design the facility," Usagawa said.
When the plant is operational, approximately 12 million gallons per day of salt water will be pumped to produce about 5 million gallons of drinking water.
The process takes saline water and pretreats it using chemicals and filters. The water is then pumped at high pressure through reverse osmosis membranes that will extract the pure water.
The reject water and leftover brine will be pumped back into the seawater caprock.
"Right now, we would inject the brine back into the ground," Usagawa said. "If there is a need to expand the plant, we would create an outfall pipeline to transport the brine out to sea."
About 30 people would be employed during construction of the facility and up to 16 people will be permanently employed there, the report said.
Usagawa said the transformed water will taste like normal tap water with necessary nutrients and minerals. The project's $40 million cost would be paid through bonds and federal grants.
The report will be available for public viewing at the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and local libraries. After a 30-day period to gather public input, the comments will be included in a draft environmental impact statement to be published sometime this summer.
Reach Scott Ishikawa at 535-2429 or sishikawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.
