RONEN ZILBERMAN / RZILBERMAN@STARBULLETIN.COM
A bulldozer cleared boulders and debris from Diamond Head Road yesterday. The work went pretty quickly, reported Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman Deborah Ward. Traffic resumed there in the afternoon.
Heavy rains muck up
isle waters and roadsThe state tests waters at
11 sites across the island after
untreated sewage overflows
The state Health Department advised people to stay out of Oahu coastal waters near places where sewage overflowed Friday night during heavy rains.
Results of tests on water samples collected at 11 sites across the island yesterday won't be available for several days.
In the meantime, the Health Department advised that people "avoid these waters for a few days until testing of water samples have been completed and warning signs removed."
They are testing for bacteria that could indicate potential risk of "gastrointestinal illness, diarrhea or stomach illness," Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said yesterday.
The potentially affected areas are: the Hawaii Kai boat ramp and Wailupe Stream in Hawaii Kai, Palolo Stream, Manoa Stream, Honolulu Harbor, Nuuanu Stream, Kalihi Stream, Salt Lake, Kaelepulu Stream (Enchanted Lake), Kailua Beach stream mouth and Bellows Stream in Waimanalo.
The advisory also recommended people stay out of water in neighborhoods that may have overflowed from manholes or sewer systems and standing water in areas with cesspools or septic tanks, such as parts of Waianae, the North Shore and the Windward Coast.
At 3 p.m. yesterday when the announcement was made about avoiding beaches, Kailua Beach Park was packed, with hundreds of people in the water, including dozens in the mouth of Kaelepulu Stream.
Several fishermen were casting throw nets into the chocolate-brown stream and people paddled kayaks in the stream and the nearby ocean.
The stream is receiving untreated storm water and sewage that continued to overflow from a manhole on Wanaao Road, said city spokesman Doug Woo.
That situation and intermittent flows from the Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant were the only two places that untreated sewage continued to flow into streams and the ocean yesterday, Woo said.
At 3 p.m. yesterday neither Kailua nor Waimanalo beach parks had signs posted warning of possible water contamination. City spokeswoman Carol Costa said last night that City Director of Environmental Services Frank Doyle said all postings would be in place at all city sites today.
Astrid Tommasino of Hawaii Kai was at Waimanalo Beach Park yesterday with her family and said she hadn't heard there were any sewage spills nearby.
"If there had been signs (posted at the beach) I wouldn't have let my son go in the water," she said.
BACK TO TOP |
Potholes proliferate
after heavy rain
The recent heavy rains have created a problem with potholes all over Oahu.City Facility Maintenance crews were filling potholes on major Honolulu streets yesterday, spokeswoman Carol Costa said.
But, she noted, "they are also part of a workforce that helps clear debris from streams, etc., which are the priority right now."
Both the city and state have pothole hotlines.
For city roads, call: 527-6006. For state highways, call 536-7852. Both services, which have recordings, ask the caller to describe the location of the pothole, spell the street name and give intersections or landmarks.
Star-Bulletin staff
