An ongoing wastewater spill of about 70,000 gallons per day at the Līhuʻe Wastewater Treatment Plant remains confined within the facility and does not pose a risk to public health at this time.
According to the County of Kauaʻi, intermittent discharges began at about 10 a.m. on March 17 and are occurring during peak flow periods, including early morning, late morning, and evening hours. Discharges have not reached any public areas or state waters.
The spill is due to decreasing capacity for underground injection control wells, which are used for disposal and are regulated to prevent contamination of underground sources of drinking water.
High flows may continue depending on rain events, and additional intermittent discharges may occur during storm conditions.
Out of caution, additional disinfection is being conducted in affected areas within the site. County crews are actively monitoring and managing flows to ensure the discharge remains contained within the treatment plant.
The Wastewater Management Division is working on both short-term and long-term projects to address the injection well capacity issue. The division is also coordinating with the Hawaiʻi Department of Health to evaluate options to expand underground injection control well capacity and increase R-1 reuse distribution to better handle higher flows.
For more information, please contact Donald Fujimoto with the Wastewater Management Division at 808-241-4083 or via email at dfujimoto@kauai.gov.
