City sewage fiasco might need state intervention

THE ISSUE Damage and problems resulting from six weeks of rainy weather continue to mount.

FROM mosquitoes and rising clean-up costs to bad publicity and harmful sewage, the fallout from the weeks of rainy weather in Hawaii continues to escalate.

Though the city will be held to account for the massive flow of sewage into Waikiki waters, the issue also should be of great concern to state officials because of its effect on the tourism industry. Reports and photos of closed, empty beaches spread around the world have blemished the image of paradise so important to Hawaii's economic health.

In addition, the state Department of Health's role in protecting residents and visitors may require some examination. Signs warning people from entering the contaminated ocean were not put up until several days after the city began pumping sewage into the Ala Wai Canal on March 24. Even though officials were awaiting test results of contamination levels, it would have been sensible to issue warnings quickly because of the enormous amount of sewage being discharged.

Governor Lingle understandably has not intervened in what is a city function, but the spill has statewide repercussions and she should ask questions about how the spill was dealt with.

Whether the death of a 34-year-old man who fell into the Ala Wai Boat Harbor was due to a bacterial infection from the sewage has yet to be determined, but the Health Department, which is conducting a "routine follow-up investigation," should redouble its efforts as a precaution.

If Oliver Johnson's death is linked to the spill, both the city and state may be liable, but clearly city officials are in the hot seat over their decision to loose into the canal 48 million gallons of sewage, which then streamed into surfing areas and along the Waikiki shoreline.

Meanwhile, the cost of the storm clean-up has been ticking up. With estimates now at $34 million, legislators are seeing the state's revenue surplus dribbling away, prompting one to suggest that income tax cut measures may have to be set aside. However, proposals to increase the state's standard deduction and to adjust tax brackets should not be part of the equation since the surplus is projected to reach more than $600 million.

The storm has left lots of puddles and standing water where mosquitoes can breed and though this seems a minor problem, pest control experts expect that their numbers will swell in weeks to come. Because mosquitoes can spread diseases like dengue fever residents should check their homes and yards for collections of water and empty them to protect themselves and their neighbors.