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The Maui News
The House Committee on Energy & Environmental Protection and the Senate Committee on Agriculture & Environment will hold a joint virtual informational briefing to discuss the findings in the Cesspool Conversion Working Group's final report to the Legislature at 11 a.m on Wednesday.
Hawaii has more than 80,000 cesspools that release more than 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the State's groundwater and surface waters every day, according to the news release.
Cesspools are an antiquated technology to dispose of untreated sewage that can pollute coral reefs, streams, coastal waters, and drinking water, posing a significant threat to the environment and to human health.
In 2017, the Legislature passed Act 125, requiring that all cesspools be converted by 2050. In 2018, to address the significant challenges raised by this conversion requirement, Act 132 established the Cesspool Conversion Working Group, tasked with further studying this issue and developing a long-range, comprehensive plan for the conversion of all cesspools statewide by 2050.
The Cesspool Conversion Working Group, after four years of work, recently finalized their report to the Legislature. This informational briefing will cover the findings and recommendations of the report. Presentations will be made by Dr. Roger Babcock, Director of Environmental Services, City and County of Honolulu; Dr. Cari Ishida, Carollo Engineers; Dr. Christopher Shuler, University of Hawaii at Manoa; Sina Pruder, Department of Health Wastewater Branch; and Ted Bohlen, Cesspool Conversion Working Group Member.
The meeting will be live streamed via Hawaii House of Representatives YouTube channel.