Repairs delayed at Sand Island

By Curtis Lum
Advertiser Staff Writer

More than two months after a sewer line ruptured at Sand Island and sent 2 million gallons of raw sewage into Honolulu Harbor, a city official said Thursday the repair work won't be completed until sometime in June.

Meanwhile, the state's Sand Island Recreation Area remains closed because of unsanitary conditions. Park officials said they had hoped to open the park and campgrounds by the Memorial Day weekend.

But city spokeswoman Carol Costa said the repair fell two weeks behind schedule because of a damaged part: A custom-made plug for a 78-inch sewer line had to be sent back to the Mainland to be repaired or replaced.

City engineers have not set a completion date, Costa said, but the work won't be finished this month. "We're anxious to get this project fixed absolutely as soon as possible," she said.

The city had estimated the repairs would cost more than $2 million, but Costa said it's too soon to tell what the final cost will be. Hawaiian Dredging was contracted by the city to do the repairs.

The break occurred March 4 in a 66-inch pressurized main that feeds into the Sand Island Wastewater Treatment Plant. Since then, a

54-inch main has handled most of the sewage that flows from the Ala Moana pump station to the treatment plant, an average of 70 million gallons per day.

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