honoluluadvertiser.com

Sponsored by:

Comment, blog & share photos

Log in | Become a member
The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, April 2, 2006

Sewage spreads to more streams, beaches

By Karen Blakeman
Advertiser Staff Writer

Those contaminated water signs are multiplying around the island as O'ahu's water-logged sewage system continues to spew brown rivers of sludge into the blue Pacific.

The city is advising the public to avoid Kailua Beach, Bellows Beach, Waimanalo Bay State Recreation Area, Ka'elepulu Stream, Blaisdell Park in Pearl Harbor, Kalihi Stream, Ke'ehi Lagoon, the shoreline near Wailupe, the Ala Wai Canal and the waters from Honolulu Harbor to Fort DeRussy Beach.

Partially treated wastewater continued to flow yesterday from saturated injection wells at the state-owned Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant toward Bellows and Waimanalo beaches.

Roughly 4,000 gallons spilled in Wailupe when two manholes overflowed on Friday and a section of a third manhole collapsed. About 9,500 gallons of wastewater spilled when Popoi'a Road near Kailua Beach Park was flooded.

Signs had been posted earlier Friday along Ka'elepulu Stream and Kailua Beach because of several other upstream spills.

Runoff from the rains flooded the Enchanted Lake Pump Station and the Kailua Heights Pump Station on Friday afternoon, city officials said, temporarily disabling them, and led to spills from manholes on Hele Street, Wana'ao Road and other areas around Enchanted Lake.

Friday's spills also included an estimated 10,000 gallons spilled at 1015 N. School St. in Lanakila that flowed into a storm drain and Kapalama Canal.

About 1,000 gallons overflowed from a manhole at 700 Umi St. in Kalihi Friday, entering Kalihi Stream.

About 600 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled at 98-159 Olepe Loop in Waimalu, entering Pearl Harbor at Blaisdell Park. Warning signs were posted at the mouth of Waimalu Stream.

Another 1.8 million gallons of untreated wastewater spilled in the Ala Moana-Kaka'ako area on Friday when the Ala Moana Pump Station pumps stopped between 5:05 and 5:30 p.m. because of a power failure, city officials said. Wastewater and infiltrated runoff backed up in sewer trunks feeding the pump station.

About 6,900 gallons overflowed from manholes at Ala Moana and Atkinson. Another overflow occurred at Cooke and Auahi streets. Warning signs were posted from Point Panic to Honolulu Harbor.

About 10,000 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled between 1:35 and 4 p.m. Friday from a manhole for the main that feeds the Kane'ohe Pretreatment Facility and entered Kaua Stream, which empties into Kane'ohe Bay.

Another 8,643 gallons of untreated wastewater spilled at the Aliamanu Pump Station No. 1 between noon and 3:21 p.m. because of runoff that infiltrated the system. A similar amount of sewage spilled from the Aliamanu Pump Station No. 2 between 12:08 and 7:16 p.m. because of runoff.

The state Department of Health has been notified about all of the wastewater spills.

Reach Karen Blakeman at kblakeman@honoluluadvertiser.com.