Honolulu Sewage Spill Contaminates Best Beaches Of Hawaii
By Treena
Shapiro, Civil Beat 05/11/2010
About 1,200 gallons of waste water
overflowed from manhole on 9th Avenue, prompting the state Department of Health
to warn the public to stay
out of Palolo Stream, Ala Wai Canal and waters of Magic Island and Ala Wai
Yacht Harbor.
The water quality is being tested today,
but the state won't have the results of the water sampling until tomorrow, said
Watson Okubo of the Health Department's Clean Water Branch.
"Compared to the big spill we had,
this is not so big but you're still dealing with human sewage so you have to be
cautious," Okubo said, comparing this incident to one in 2006 when some 48
million gallons of raw sewage was dumped into
the Ala Wai Canal and closed popular South Shore beaches for days.
This time, the health department estimates
that about 700 gallons of sewage spilled into Palolo Stream, which connects to
the Ala Wai Canal. Swimmers aren't being warned about the water quality at Ala
Moana Beach Park, but the public is being asked to stay out of waters off Magic
Island. "There's a possibility the tides can push it right back into the
lagoon," Okubo said. "There shouldn't be swimming where there are
signs posted."
"Whenever it rains, we have
problems. That's expected," Okubo said.
