Kailua stench persists despite fines

Plans to upgrade the wastewater plant are on hold

Although the state yesterday raised a stink about air pollution violations in Kailua, residents shouldn't hold their breath hoping for the stench to go away.

The state Department of Health Clean Air Branch issued a notice of violation and a $177,600 fine against the city for exceeding the hydrogen-sulfide emission limit at the Kailua Waste- water Treatment Plant, among other citations.

Hydrogen sulfide is the gas that smells like rotten eggs, a "natural byproduct" of decomposing, said Kevin Nakamura, Windward region wastewater superintendent.

Plans to upgrade the plant's odor collection system are on hold until a review by engineers is completed, but there's no guarantee the upgrades will happen within the year.

Tina Judd, who works at the Parent Participation Nursery School across the street from the plant, said she can understand the occasional odor. She and her 3-year-old son, who also is enrolled at the Kailua day-care facility, live next to a treatment plant in Kahaluu.

"But it never smells this bad," said Judd, adding that this last year was the worst the odor had ever been. The citations were for violations occurring between January and July.

Nakamura said the plant's pressurization vessel, which removes the sludge, had a hole on it. Shipping delays earlier in the year resulted from the Hurricane Katrina disaster in the Gulf Coast, he said. Later in the year, the plant's primary clarifiers, which allow the solids in the sludge to settle, needed maintenance as well.

Nakamura said an engineering firm will review the plant's odor collection system and will present a report on what improvements need to be made, hopefully before the year ends. City spokesman Bill Brennan said once the review is complete, the city will know what steps to take next.

City officials have said the challenge is setting priorities in the face of millions of dollars of work that needs to be done throughout the city's sewer system.

"I can sympathize with what the residents are saying," said Nakamura, adding stenches are inherent with operating a sewage treatment plant. "We're trying to remedy things and keep the odor down to a minimum."

But the city should work on eliminating the smell altogether, said Kemuel Frett, a 30-year-old whose family has lived across the plant on Kaneohe Bay Drive for 11 years.

Frett said he's gotten use to the smell, but he notes the elementary school, the park and numerous houses that have been there "long before the plant was here."

"If there's got to be a sewage plant, eliminate the smell, not diminish it," Frett said. "It's a nuisance."

Judd agreed, saying the nursery kids, ages 2 to 5, sometimes complain about headaches after smelling the odor. Both said the air gets foul several times a week, sometimes every other day.

"It can't be good for these kids," Judd said. "It can't be good for the tourists either, driving their convertibles with the top down. You don't exactly get the warm and fuzzies driving by the sewage plant."