Posted on: Thursday, March 3, 2005

EDITORIAL
Cesspools, sewers, roads reflect shame

It's no longer funny to suggest that when it comes to infrastructure, Hawai'i mirrors a Third World nation. Increasingly, that's inching too close to reality.

The latest indicator: Hawai'i is the cesspool capital of the nation, suggests a report from the federal Environmental Protection Agency. No state in America uses cesspools as widely as Hawai'i, according to the EPA.

Cesspools, used for disposal of human waste, leach raw sewage into the surrounding ground and threaten the ground-water supply.

Homes without cesspools rely on city sewage lines to pipe sewage directly to our treatment plants. And that system, too, has its fair share of woes.

As we've seen through the frequent raw-sewage spills during bad weather, our sewer lines are in dire need of repair or replacement.

And at treatment plants, sewage receives partial treatment and then is dumped through outfalls into the ocean. Even though the Sand Island treatment plant isn't all that far from the beaches of Waikiki, raw sewage is sometimes released through its ocean outfall, during storms and power failures.

Yet Honolulu continues to argue that it should be one of the few places in the United States to be exempted from more thorough treatment of the sewage that enters the ocean.

The issues are not just about sewage. Many tourist-dependent cities on the Mainland long ago decided to spend the money to put utility lines underground, instead of stringing them on poles. It also explains why the lights go out when the trade winds get too brisk, and why our telephones buzz in wet weather.

And then, there are the potholes. There are cities in what until recently were considered Third World countries where not only are the roads in good repair, but utilities are reliable, with their wires buried instead of marring the scenery; where beaches aren't fouled by raw sewage every time it rains hard; and where trains and subways provide comfortable and convenient transportation for those who can't afford cars.

These are fundamental elements that elevate societies; and that's reason enough to do better for O'ahu's residents and visitors.