Brown water advisory issued for Waiʻoli Beach at Hanalei Bay on North Shore

Hawai‘i Department of Health notifies the public that a brown water advisory is in effect for Waiʻoli Beach, also known as Pine Trees, located at the west end of Hanalei Bay on Kaua‘i’s North Shore.

State health officials advise beachgoers to stay out of waters when they appears brown or murky, especially following storms or heavy rain, when the water could contain higher than normal pollutant levels.

If the water is brown, turn around.

The state Health Department recommends staying out of the water for 48 to 72 hours after the rain has stopped and after the beach has received full sunshine.

Officials also advise no swimming, wading in or drinking water from any freshwater streams or ponds to prevent leptospirosis, a bacterial infection caused by the Leptospira bacteria.

Click here for additional information.

For more information about this advisory, visit the Hawai‘i Department of Health Clean Water Branch System website.

The state Department of Health also issued a high bacteria count notification for Waiʻoli Beach Park after bacteria levels of 2,005 per 100 mL were detected during recent routine monitoring of waters at the beach.

Health officials are uncertain about the representativeness of the first sample, and the beach has historically met the acceptable threshold level. There also is no known source of fecal contamination.

Therefore, the department collected another sample and is retesting the site. The state will update the notification based on the results of this retesting.

Click here and here for more information about the high bacteria count notification.