This story was updated at 12:39 p.m. on Friday, April 10.
Heavy rain on Kaua‘i has resulted in a wastewater spill of treated and disinfected wastewater from the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant holding tanks.
According to Kaua‘i County, the ongoing spill has discharged approximately 72,000 gallons in the vicinity of the Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor. The spill began at 7:50 a.m. However, the rate of the spill has subsided, corresponding to the rate of inflow to the plant.
The spill is believed to have reached the Kikiaola Small Boat Harbor and signs have been posted warning of the dangers of potential exposure.
The spill occurred due to high flows from the heavy rains and high infiltration and inflow from the storm. High flows may continue depending on the direction of this rain event, and future spills may occur until the storm passes, the release stated.
The spill was isolated to overflow from the effluent tank after passing through the biological treatment process and UV disinfection.
The Wastewater Management Division is working on immediate repair projects to address the infiltration and inflow problem. WMD is also working with the Hawaii Department of Health to identify options and expand the capacity of the UIC injections wells and R-1 reuse distribution to handle the higher storm flows.
Anyone with questions may contact Donald Fujimoto with the Wastewater Management Division at 808-241-4083 or via email at dfujimoto@kauai.gov.
For more information and updates, see: https://eha-cloud.doh.hawaii.gov/cwb/#!/event/2045/details/view.
