North Shore's raw sewage not welcome in Whitmore

By Will Hoover
Advertiser North Shore Writer

Honolulu City Council chairman Donovan Dela Cruz said yesterday the city's Department of Environmental Services may scrap a 60-day test plan to truck waste from North Shore cesspools to a pre-treatment facility in Whitmore Village.

That followed protests by Whitmore residents at the Monday night Wahiawa Neighborhood Board meeting. The board was presented with a petition signed by several dozen Whitmore residents saying they were opposed to the idea because of odors and other concerns.

"It's unlikely at this point, because the Whitmore community is opposed to it," said Tim Houghton, department deputy director.

However, Houghton said the board itself is still open to the idea and has been invited to tour both the Whitmore pre-treatment facility and another potential disposal destination, the Wahiawa Waste Water Treatment Plant.

Houghton said the department plans to do nothing until it has a chance to discuss the plan at the next neighborhood meeting.

Dela Cruz, who represents both North Shore and Whitmore Village residents, said the waste is now being trucked to facilities in Pearl City and Kahuku. He said the city, which is obligated to provide pumping services to North Shore residents, had recently raised its rates from less than $50 a month to around $150 to keep in line with fees charged by private pumping companies.

Kathy Masunaga, Wahiawa Neighborhood Board chairwoman, said that trucking the waste to the Whitmore pre-treatment facility is cheaper than hauling it all the way to Pearl City and Kahuku.

Houghton said that waste trucked to the Whitmore pre-treatment facility would then be piped to the Wahiawa Waste Water Treatment Plant. He said the waste could be trucked directly to the Wahiawa treatment plant, although that would require trucks traveling through more neighborhoods.