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A SPECIAL REPORT
State denies posting of warning signs in Waikiki was slow
SEWAGE
A persistent criticism of state and city officials' response to a record raw-sewage spill into the Ala Wai Canal has been that they were slow to post signs along Waikiki beaches warning people of contaminated water.
Watson Okubo, the state official responsible for deciding when to post those signs, rejects suggestions that political or business pressures delayed any postings.
"Nobody wen' twist my arm to put signs up, and nobody made me take them down," Okubo said last week. Not the Health Department director, not the governor, not the tourism industry.
Okubo, head of the state Health Department's water quality monitoring division, said he has a simple credo regarding his role of protecting public health: Rely on data.
"We have to have a good reason why we post a beach (as closed)," he said.
Here is how Okubo explained when, where and why contaminated-water signs were posted for the 48-million-gallon sewage spill that began after a main sewer line broke March 24 during heavy rain:
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March 24: Okubo's office required city crews to post signs in affected areas, which is routine for a sewage spill. This included Kaiolu Street, where the leak occurred, the Ala Wai Canal and Harbor, the old heliport parking lot (where surfers access breaks at the mouth of the harbor) and the Magic Island finger. The posting locations were based on the estimated amount of the spill at the time, and ocean currents. City and state officials began daily water quality testing at 28 Waikiki surf and beach sites.
» March 26: The city began dumping sewage to the Ala Wai Canal to prevent backup into Waikiki buildings.
» March 29: Based on a spike in bacteria contamination in water samples analyzed March 28, the beaches fronting the Hilton Hawaiian Village and Hale Koa hotels were closed, and signs were posted.
» March 30: The city stopped dumping sewage into the canal.
» April 2: Additional beaches fronting the Halekulani, Sheraton and Moana hotels were closed and signs posted, based on increased bacterial levels.
» April 4: All beaches were reopened after bacterial levels decreased; the Ala Wai Canal and Harbor remain posted. Monitoring continues.
City officials also defend their actions. "On those first few days, everything was going out to deep water so there was no high bacteria count near the shore," city spokesman Bill Brennan said. "The counts near the beach didn't warrant the posting of signs, according to the Health Department."