Sewage-plant money for Waimanalo restored

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer

WAIMANALO — After more than a decade of asking, the Waimanalo community is the closest it has ever been to getting millions of dollars in upgrades for its outdated wastewater treatment plant.

Officials say the improvements will reduce sewage spills, allow development in the area and potentially eliminate the need for hundreds of cesspools and septic tanks on beachside properties.

The money was requested by Lingle in her supplemental budget, but the amount was reduced to $1.4 million by the Senate Ways & Means Committee, then restored by a legislative conference committee last week.

Community members said the political moves — the Democrat-controlled Legislature removing the money provided by a Republican governor — did not go unnoticed.

"People's view of government is tarnished," said Andrew Jamila Jr. "Can't (legislators) see what is for the good of the community and get by all that?"

Representative Tommy Waters, D-51st (Waimanalo, Lanikai), said the problem was one of educating legislators about the need for the upgrades and the health hazards to the community posed by sewage overflows.

"It's a lot of money in a tight budget year," Waters said. "In politics it's just educating people on what's important and why it's important."

The city first sought upgrades in 1989, saying the plant needed $22.8 million in improvements to hook up 350 beachside homes and get rid of the cesspools and septic tanks that officials feared might be polluting nearshore waters.

The limited capacity of the 35-year-old plant resulted in a building moratorium that prevented residents from adding onto their homes or building new homes or other buildings.

The threat of sewage spills also loomed large. In March, 18,215 gallons of treated wastewater overflowed the plant during heavy rain. Although the spill was contained on or just next to the plant's property, the city closed Waimanalo beaches for several days.

City officials said they are pleased that the Legislature approved the $18.2 million. The plant is in good condition, but the present processing method limits its ability, said Tim Houghton, deputy director for the Department of Environmental Services.

Although designed to treat 1.1 million gallons a day, the plant can only handle 700,000 gallons a day, Houghton said. "The upgrade will ... restore capacity to 1.1 million gallons a day, providing better service to the community and allowing the future expansion of the sewer system in the Waimanalo community."

The plant injects biologically treated wastewater into wells, where it filters naturally, but the 1970s-era technology is outdated and difficult to control, Waters said.

"The $18.2 million appropriation gives us a state-of-the-art biological treatment process and increased capacity," Waters said. "This means that the wastewater that will be injected into the ground will meet and probably exceed EPA water quality standards and with the increased capacity there will be less chance of overflows into our streams."

Wilson Ho, chairman of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, said winning the money for the treatment plant was a bittersweet victory, knowing that other communities won't get their projects and recognizing what a difficult decision it was to make.

"It's a good thing to get all that money for Waimanalo, but what is the price?" he asked. "Who will suffer? Who will lose out in the end?"

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.