Posted on: Friday, July 30, 2004
Groups sue city over sewage
By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer
Honolulu's sewer system is decrepit and dangerous, and more must be done to prevent sewage spills that have repeatedly closed beaches and contaminated homes, three environmental groups charge in a lawsuit filed yesterday in U.S. District Court.
The city has violated federal wastewater standards for years by failing to fix and maintain sewer pipes and equipment in a timely manner, according to the suit by the Hawai'i Chapter of the Sierra Club, Hawai'i's Thousand Friends, and Our Children's Earth.
"It's totally unacceptable to have sewage flowing into people's homes, into the parks, and into the ocean," said Donna Wong, executive director of Hawai'i's Thousand Friends. "That's just not a healthy environment; it's not good for public health."
Elizabeth Keenan, who was surfing at Kewalos yesterday, said she worries about the impact of sewage spills and treatment-plant discharge on the water.
"I surf here all the time and I've never gotten sick, but it definitely seems like something that should be fixed," she said. "It keeps happening."
Keenan's surfing buddy Becka Seymour said she, too, is concerned about the water.
"It looks clear and clean, but it probably has a lot of yucky things in it," she said. "For sure, you don't want to swallow any."
There have been more than 1,200 sewage spills since 1999, which have contaminated Poka'i Bay, Ke'ehi Lagoon, Honolulu Harbor, Kane'ohe Bay, Kailua Bay and other coastal waters and inland streams, the environmental groups say. Meanwhile, work to upgrade sewage treatment plants to meet federal regulations has fallen behind.
City managing director Ben Lee called the suit "absolutely unnecessary" and said the city is doing all it can to improve the sewer system.
"We can't improve and build our wastewater system any quicker than we are," he said.
The city has spent $900 million on sewer projects since 1994 and will spend $120 million more this year, he said.
"I think our wastewater system is in excellent condition," Lee said. "This suit is an unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars."
He conceded that some important projects are far behind schedule, but said that's because of construction problems that are not the city's fault.
But Wong said she believes other work has been neglected, in part because city officials preferred to spend money on beautification projects that are popular and visible.
"Sewage is not a sexy issue, the pipes are hidden, nobody looks at the plants, and other things add more pizzazz to what the city is doing," she said. "But the work is necessary. It's absolutely necessary. And it's part of their job. Their responsibility is to protect the public and the environment."
Lee contends that the city has struck an appropriate balance between beautification projects and infrastructure. Parks, landscaping and other amenities improve the quality of life and enhance the tourism that the island's economy depends on, he said.
"I think we're doing the right thing, and we're being fiscally responsible," Lee said.
Lee said there is no solid evidence that water routinely discharged from O'ahu's sewage treatment plants is unsafe.
But a disinfection unit for the city's main plant on Sand Island is two years behind a schedule ordered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
About 70 million gallons of partially treated sewage is discharged from the plant every day into deep water about 1.7 miles off Sand Island.
An EPA-commissioned study recommended in 2002 that the city more aggressively test South Shore waters to detect how much effluent reaches swimming, surfing and fishing spots.
The lawsuit calls for fines of up to $32,500 per day for violations of the federal Clean Water Act. But plaintiffs' attorney Lea Hong said the intent is that any judgment go toward upgrading the city's sewage system.
City Council chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said the city will probably have to increase sewer fees next year to pay for sewer work that's already planned.
The suit also charges that the city is illegally dumping millions of gallons of treated wastewater that could be used for irrigating farms, golf courses and landscaping.
At the same time, the city is unnecessarily straining O'ahu's natural resources by drawing more water from the Pearl Harbor aquifer and from streams, Wong said.
As part of a settlement to a previous suit, the city is required to reclaim about 10 million gallons of wastewater per day from the Honouliuli sewage treatment plant. The city pays a private company to further treat the water, but much of it is literally flushed down the drain, Hong said.
"The city dumps from three to four million gallons of that water per day into the ocean at an ocean outfall," she said.
The EPA and state Department of Health discovered the dumping during an inspection of the plant last year, which found multiple violations of two federal permits.
The city pays the U.S. Filter Corp. $1.17 per 1,000 gallons of reclaimed water that is treated at a facility next to the sewage plant. Several million gallons per day are used to irrigate city golf courses and other property.
But if the city is wasting up to 4 million gallons per day, it's costing taxpayers up to $140,400 per month.
Lee said the city uses and sells as much of the water as it can, but that it is so rich in nutrients that golf courses need less than had been expected. And some farmers have found it cheaper to dig wells than to buy the reclaimed water, he said.
Officials are studying how to better use the water, but in the meantime the city is obligated by contract to buy more reclaimed water than it needs, according to Lee.
Reach Johnny Brannon at 525-8070 or jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com.
