The island of Oahu, where an estimated 905,000 people or the vast majority of Hawaii’s population live, had 364 water main breaks per year between 2005 and 2009 – or an average of one break per day.
Board of Water Supply spokesperson Moani Wright-Van Alst says the city agency is unsure how many gallons of water are lost to water main breaks a year, or how that compares with overall usage because that depends “on the size of the break, the size of the pipe (4" versus a transmission main that is 24 inches or 30 inches), the duration of the break, and the pressure of the system.”
The repair process is not easy or quick: “Before excavation can begin, the BWS must contact other utilities to mark their lines so that the BWS doesn’t inadvertently strike other utilities lines in the excavation process. Crews also need to clear the debris in the working area.
Oahu’s sewage system, which burst in 2006 sending more than 50 million gallons of sewage into the streets, Ala Wai canal and waters fronting Waikiki and Ala Moana, still has regular breaks.
The Sierra Club, which sued the city over its lack of maintenance, says in a recent oped: “After ignoring warnings that the Beach Walk sewer main was in “extremely critical” condition, then Mayor Mufi Hannemann oversaw the worst water pollution episode in Honolulu’s history: 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai and Waikiki waters, shutting down Waikiki beaches and earning international embarrassment.
Despite the debacle, Hannemann continued to fight the Environmental Protection Agency and community groups in court, paying a mainland attorney millions until being forced to settle the lawsuit and upgrade facilities to 21st-Century standards.
Along those lines, Channel 2 News reports that the city’s attitude on sewage related issues has not improved: “For the second time in three weeks the state has fined the city $140,000 for "willfully violating" state law at one of its wastewater treatment facilities. That's more than a quarter million dollars in fines in less than a month.”
The Environmental Protection Agency has ordered the city to upgrade and repair Oahu’s sewage system – and that will cost ratepayers more than $7 billion
Kobayashi is concerned about the City's management of sewers. She says there is a building moratorium in Moiliili because the sewage system is at capacity. "No one is doing anything about it."
She is also says she is outraged that the City fought the Environmental Protection Agency, spending $10 million on legal fees for mainland law firms.
The city’s landfill in Maili is another infrastructure issue that the city has botched, according to the Sierra Club. The organization criticizes the current administration for its management: Hannemann fought island wide curbside recycling for our island–he was forced to implement the program by law enacted by voters in 2006.
Hannemann cancelled the curbside recycling program when he started his term and then proceeded to oppose efforts to create a program at the City Council, the State Legislature, and in City Charter.
He reversed his promise to close Waimanalo Gulch landfill (which was penalized millions of dollars for violations), and botched the plan to ship opala off-island.
The city taxpayers need to invest $5.5 billion into repairs and maintenance for roads, watermain repairs and other infrastructure improvements and that is in addition to the $7 million for sewage repairs.
Kirk Caldwell, who is running for mayor, is Hannemann’s acting mayor. He says that Oahu taxpayers can afford over the next three decades to complete all of these sewage and infrastructure repairs and build a 20-mile, $5.5 billion rail system from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center.
Others opposed to the second most costly rail project per lane mile in the nation, estimate the rail will cost every family an estimated $11,000.
