Kokua Line June Watanabe

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Kailua stench coming from area swamp

Question: Since last Sunday, all of Kailua has smelled terrible. It comes and goes, but it is worse in the mornings. It smells like swamp water, sewage and maybe a dead animal. The worst is in Kailua town, but the smell is also noticeable in Enchanted Lake and Coconut Grove. Everyone is talking about it, but no one knows what it is. Can you help determine what is causing this awful smell?

Answer: Unfortunately for Kailua residents, the odors are a part of nature, exacerbated by the lack of trades.

The odor was so bad, even the Honolulu Fire Department got calls about it.

A check Thursday determined the smell was coming "from the swamp," said HFD spokesman Capt. Kenison Tejada.

Nothing unusual was found; neither was there anything to suggest the odor was related to last Sunday's earthquakes, Tejada said. "There was nothing we could do," he said, and callers were advised to contact the state Department of Health.

In response to complaints about the stench, staff from both the Health Department's Clean Air Branch and Clean Water Branch also visited the area last week.

They determined "the odor was likely caused by hydrogen sulfide gas formed from the stagnant water conditions at Kawai Nui Swamp," said Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo. Hydrogen sulfide is formed by decomposing organic matter. The result: the smell of rotten eggs.

"Under good conditions, sunlight and wind encourage the normal photosynthetic breakdown of hydrogen sulfide gas before it gets into the air," she explained. But the recent lack of tradewinds and sun worsened the odors.

The good news: "When the tradewinds return, the odor will diminish," Okubo said.

Meanwhile, Watson Okubo, chief of the Clean Water Branch, provided some historic information.

"We have had this problem at Salt Lake for many years, more recently (at) Lake Wilson and now Kailua," he said. "Several years ago, it was bad in the Enchanted Lake area of Akaakaawa Place."

Typically, the odiferous problem surfaces between September and November, he said.

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Q: My computer burned out when the power went on after last Sunday's earthquakes. I want to know if I can get Hawaiian Electric Co. to pay for the damage.

A: You can file a claim with HECO, but have to do it within 30 days of the Oct. 15 islandwide power outage.

To request a claim form, call 543-4624.

As of Thursday, more than 600 claims or inquiries had been received, said HECO spokesman Jose Dizon. Most claims so far have been related to food spoilage.

Claims will be evaluated case by case, Dizon said.

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