Wastewater spills into streams
| • | Waikane flooding riles drivers |
By Peter Boylan and Mike Gordon
Advertiser Staff Writers
Rain caused sewage treatment systems to overflow yesterday on the Windward side, spilling thousands of gallons of wastewater into streams and the ocean.
Bruce Asato • The Honolulu Advertiser
The spills kept city crews busy.
Both town-bound lanes of Pali Highway were closed yesterday after a tree toppled onto a van. The driver, Kim Wong, left, suffered a few cuts but her three children were not hurt.
Mokulua Drive in Lanikai was one of the Windward roadways where drivers had to contend with puddling.
The wastewater was in various stages of treatment before it leaked into the open ocean. Warning signs were posted at beaches from Waimanalo to Kailua, and the state Department of Health was notified.
Heavy rains yesterday in Kailua caused a manhole on Wana'ao Road to overflow again, sending thousands of gallons of untreated wastewater into storm drains that lead to Kaelepulu Stream and Kailua Bay.
About 63,700 gallons of raw sewage had spilled from the manhole by 3 p.m. and the flow was still coming, a city official said. Six pumper trucks were on the scene to intercept the flow and contain the spill, the official said.
The manhole backup yesterday followed three days of overflows on Wana'ao that ended on Sunday.
Tori Swoish, who lives on the street, said she's not surprised, because the manholes on the street have overflowed during heavy rains in the year she has lived there. But she said she's concerned that the city isn't doing more to stop the problem.
"They've got to do something to rectify this," Swoish said. "It seems like it's so accepted. It's like every time this happens, it's OK to pollute our beaches."
Warning signs that were posted last week at Kaelepulu Stream and Kailua Bay remain in place.
Almost 25,000 gallons of partially treated wastewater were discharged into the ocean from the Kane'ohe Bay Wastewater Treatment Plant when heavy rain caused the facility's treatment tanks to overflow.
And 18,215 gallons of treated wastewater spilled intermittently at the Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant between 2:45 p.m. Friday and 6:40 p.m. Sunday, a city official said. About one-third of that amount reached outside the plant's property in areas not accessible to the public. As a precaution, warning signs were posted at Bellows Beach and water samples there were tested for contamination. The facility treats sewage to a high — secondary — level, using sand filtration and sodium hypochlorite for disinfection.
The National Weather Service said a flash-flood watch would remain in effect until 4 a.m. today for O'ahu and the Big Island. A flood advisory has been issued for the Kohala and Waimea areas.
Lead forecaster Roy Matsuda said the system that spawned the wet weather is slowly dissipating. "It doesn't really look threatening. Most of the showers should be gone and, on O'ahu, we might see clear skies," he said.
There were plenty of traffic woes.
Kim Wong of Kailua was driving down a rain-slick Pali Highway yesterday when a tree popped out of the hillside and crashed onto her van.
"The van, it's totaled," Wong said over the buzz of chainsaws. "It busted the whole windshield. There is glass all over the inside of the van."
She suffered a few cuts from the broken glass, but her three children were not injured.
Both town-bound lanes of Pali Highway were closed when the tree — 30 feet long, with a trunk about a foot in diameter —Êfell about 6:55 a.m. Townbound traffic was contra-flowed into Kailua-bound lanes while Kailua-bound commuters were diverted to Nu'uanu Pali Drive. All lanes were reopened by 12:30 p.m.
In Kailua, a small landslide and flooding near the Kapa'a Transfer Station closed Kapa'a Quarry Road from 5:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.
In Waikane, Kamehameha Highway was closed in both directions from 3:40 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. because of flooding at Waikane Valley Road.
A high-surf warning was posted for north- and west-facing shores of Kaua'i, O'ahu, Moloka'i and Maui. Waves on north-facing shores are expected to be 15 to 20 feet, occasionally 30 feet. For west-facing shores, waves of 10 to 15 feet were forecast.
Heavy surf prompted Kaua'i County to close all beaches on the island's north shore. County lifeguards reported waves of 40 feet and stormy conditions.
Advertiser staff writer Eloise Aguiar contributed to this report. Reach Mike Gordon at mgordon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8012. Reach Peter Boylan at 525-8110 or at pboylan@honoluluadvertiser.com.
