CRYSTAL KUA / CKUA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Clifton Garvida and Nalu Ah San worked Thursday to clear mud and debris from a drainage ditch near their homes in Punaluu.
|
|
Sewage spills from rain pollute water
State officials warn people to stay out of the ocean
If you want to go into the ocean after this week's heavy rains, don't, says Watson Okubo, head of the state agency that tests water quality.
"The water right now on the Windward and North Shore is really not the place to be," Okubo said yesterday.
Aid through Red Cross
American Red Cross volunteers toured flooded Windward areas to assess damage to homes and to provide assistance.
The Hawaii State Chapter workers are distributing about $5,000 in bottled water and cleanup kits -- brooms, mops, buckets, sponges and cleansers, hygiene kits and tarps -- donated by Wal-Mart.
Wal-Mart also donated $5,000 toward the relief efforts.
To help victims of this and other local disasters, send a contribution to American Red Cross, Hawaii State Chapter, 4155 Diamond Head Road, Honolulu, HI 96816; or you can send a donation online at www.hawaiiredcross.org or call 739-8109.
|
The city reported eight sewage spills on the Windward side yesterday, caused by overflow because of the huge influx of rainwater into the sewage system.
In addition, the Windward Coast north of Kaneohe -- except for a sewage system in Laie, and all the North Shore -- depends on septic tanks and cesspools to take care of sewage.
Those flood and wash into the ocean and streams during heavy rains, not to mention runoff pollution that can include animal waste, pesticides and chemicals, Okubo said. The key worry is viruses and bacteria that could make people sick, he said.
And if that's not enough reason to keep out of the ocean, Okubo added, sharks are known to feed along coastlines after flooding, because dead animals could be washed into the ocean.
The city will be conducting water-quality tests in Kaneohe and Kailua near sewage spills, Okubo said -- but he already knows from experience that state monitoring crews will find "sky-high" readings in all areas of heavy flooding.
According to a city news release yesterday, sewage spills included 102,000 gallons at the Kaneohe pre-treatment facility on Kualauli Street; a small spill at the Kailua Wastewater Treatment Plant; 15,230 gallons at the Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant; and a total of five other manhole and pumping stations spills, including one that dumped 31,320 gallons into Enchanted Lake.
The cause of the city's sewage spills is storm water getting into the sewage system, not failures of sewer pipes or facilities, Deputy Director of Environmental Health Larry Lau said yesterday in a release.
Water quality issues can be directed to the Department of Health's Clean Water Branch on Oahu at 586-4309.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
State Transportation Department engineer Scott Naleimaile, above, kept his eyes yesterday on a roadside waterfall that stopped Kailua-bound traffic on Pali Highway. The water put debris on the road, which prompted the shutdown.
|
|
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARBULLETIN.COM
Nani Yamasaki, taking a look at damage sustained in her Kaaawa Point neighborhood, watched an Army helicopter swoop overhead. She was pushing Grant Morris, left, and son Tayte Yamasaki in a stroller, with daughter Quinn at right.
|
|
