Risks posed by exceedance of fecal bacteria from Kailua wastewater plant explained

HONOLULU (KHON2) — Lawmakers and experts are looking for solutions to high bacteria levels in our waters. State and city officials discussed health risks and want the community to be informed about water quality advisories in a meeting held Wednesday, Aug. 15.

“We don’t want people to put themselves at undue risk, but we also don’t want people to lose out on ocean recreation,” stated Representative Lisa Marten.

A wastewater treatment plant in Kailua discharges treated wastewater about 3,500 feet from shore and 105 feet below the surface. At times, an exceedance or high bacterial levels may pose a greater risk to those swimming in the ocean.

“A couple of my friends have gotten staph infections from paddling,” said Kailua resident Taylor Swoish.

Fecal bacteria known as Enterococci found in intestinal tracts of humans and other warm-blooded animals, is what the Department of Health (DOH) uses as an indicator to measure water quality.

“Levels greater than 130 CFU/100 mL indicates that there’s increased probability of risk of illness due to pathogens that cause gastrointestinal illness,” stated Darryl Lum, DOH Clean Water Branch Program Manager. “It doesn’t mean that you’re going to become ill, it just means you have a higher possibility.”

Experts said an exceedance is not a spill and discharged wastewater is always treated, but higher levels may occur during brown water advisories – when heavy rainfall leads to surface runoff into the ocean causing water to become discolored.

“That can affect the plant performance when flows are much higher than what the normal average flows are,” stated Roger Babcock, Department of Environmental Services Director who manages the city’s wastewater.

According to Councilmember Esther Kiaʻāina, high bacteria levels can also happen in dry weather.

“Over the last couple of months, there have been a lot of exceedance levels when it is not raining,” said Kiaʻāina.

Babcock said occasional equipment problems lead to exceedances for a day, but usually “get those things fixed quickly.”

In the past four years, the city has appropriated nearly $100 million for the Kailua Wastewater Treatment Plant, per Kiaʻāina.

“Including $11 for a uv-c light disinfection system to address the high bacterial levels in Kailua Bay, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2025,” stated Kiaʻāina.

Officials say they will continue with more upgrades like making pipes more watertight.