A recent letter questioned the status of the mayor’s Maalaea Harbor sewage pump-out program. Here is that information:
At Mayor Alan Arakawa’s direction, Executive Assistant Don Couch and I met with state officials throughout 2005 and they now assure us that Maalaea Harbor improvements will include an arterial pump-out system, not just a single location. However, planning, design, funding and construction could take three years or longer.Detailed information was obtained from Maalaea Harbor commercial boaters regarding vessel wastewater systems, size of holding tanks, average number of passengers, ability to retrofit to accommodate onshore pumping and cumulative volume of wastewater discharges.
It was essential to approximate the volume of saltwater to be discharged into county wastewater treatment facilities in order not to affect the bacterial treatment process of the effluent, or the chloride content of R-2 recycled water for irrigation purposes.
A sum of $30,000 was granted by the Office of Economic Development to Tri Isle Resource Conservation & Development, a 501(c)-3 organization. Twenty-five boat owner/operators and four pumping companies were notified about the pump-out program, and how to participate.
Concurrently, we are seeking additional funding through a number of sources, including a Hawaii Tourism Authority grant, legislative budgeting through the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (harbors) and federal appropriations through both the Environmental Protection Agency and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which governs our humpback whale sanctuary.
Ultimately, it will be up to the boat operators to choose to protect the health of our residents and the ocean environment by participating in onshore pumping of their vessels.
Rob Parsons
Environmental Coordinator, County of Maui
