EPA asks city to explain
sewage spills in streams
The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the city to explain a pattern of sewage spills in the Kalihi and Nuuanu streams over the past five years and what it is doing about it.
The EPA is aware of 33 spills in the two Honolulu streams since April 1998, ranging from 25 gallons to 58,000 gallons each, said EPA spokesman Dean Higuchi.
"We're trying to find out what was really going on," Higuchi said yesterday.
Although the city posts signs warning people to stay out of the water after spills, the areas are highly populated and not everyone, especially children, pays attention to signs, he said.
City Environmental Services Director Frank Doyle is reviewing the order "and preparing a response which he believes will be found to be more than satisfactory," city spokeswoman Carol Costa said yesterday.
By the end of August, the city should submit a report to the EPA and state Department of Health of all sewage spills into the Kalihi and Nuuanu streams from April 1998 to April 2003.
The order also requires the city to report on completed and planned maintenance and repair to sewage pipes in Kalihi and Nuuanu stream areas and how it will eliminate spills in the two streams' watersheds.
"As many of Oahu's streams flow through densely populated areas, it's important for the city to place a priority on repairing pipes that have chronic spills," said Alexis Strauss, director for the EPA Pacific Southwest Region's Water Division. "We'll work with the city to ensure that its sewer repair program prevents the types of spills that are happening at Kalihi and Nuuanu streams."
Inspectors from the EPA and Health Department believe the spills may have resulted from leaks in old and deteriorated sewer pipes near both streams.
Both streams are known to be contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, which could cause gastrointestinal, skin or ear infections.
A 1995 consent decree agreement between the EPA and the city requires the city to implement a 20-year sewer rehabilitation and replacement program. The city is now in the fourth year of its $885 million program to repair, replace and upgrade old sewer pipes and pump stations.