Sewer pipe repair pushed back

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

Repair work on a broken pipe that spilled about 2 million gallons of raw sewage at Sand Island on March 4 will not be completed until May at the earliest, city officials said yesterday.

City engineers initially said the repairs could be completed by April 20 at a cost of more than $2 million. But because replacement parts are being custom-made, it will take from three to four weeks before they are delivered, the city said in a statement issued last night.

The 78-inch pipe plugs are needed, the city said, to ensure that residual and seepage water from the force main will not enter the construction area during excavation. Hawaiian Dredging was contracted by the city to do the repairs.

"We are aggressively working to complete the repairs by early May," the city said. "But depending on the parts and material deliveries and any unforeseen problems during construction, it could take additional time before the project is completed."

The break is in a 66-inch pressurized main that feeds into the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. A 54-inch main that also serves the plant from the Ala Moana pump station has been handling the flow, which averages about 70 million gallons per day.

There have been no additional spills during the repair, the city said. Much of the 2 million gallons of sewage that spilled wound up in Honolulu Harbor.

Meanwhile, the Sand Island Recreation Area will remain closed until the repair work is completed.

Reach Curtis Lum at 525-8025 or at culum@honoluluadvertiser.com.