A Hanalei ecologist is claiming that sections of the Hanalei River, the shoreline areas of Hanalei Bay where county restrooms are located, and three streams leading to the bay all contain high counts of a disease-carrying bacteria, posing a potential
A Hanalei ecologist is claiming that sections of the Hanalei River, the shoreline areas of Hanalei Bay where county restrooms are located, and three streams leading to the bay all contain high counts of a disease-carrying bacteria, posing a potential public health risk.
The bacteria count of enterococcus fluctuates during the year due to weather conditions, but the counts exceed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency standards, says Dr. Carl Berg, who is working on a federally funded Hanalei River project. An enterococcus infection can cause abdominal infections, skin infections, urinary-tract problems and infection of the blood system.
The bacteria is found in sewage in cesspools and septic tanks dug in Hanalei town. State Department of Health officials estimate there are about 225 cesspools and 75 septic tanks in and around the area.
Berg says studies point to the sewage, particularly waste from improperly maintained septic tanks, seeping into the ground and finding its way to the Hanalei watershed.
Berg and Jan Surface, a hydrologist, are scheduled to make these points at a meeting of the Hanalei Watershed Hui at Hanalei School at 5:30 p.m. today.
A solution to the problem is to be proposed by Berg and Surface, with the hui developing plans for a centralized wastewater facility to treat the sewage.
The two are working with the University of Hawai‘i medical school to secure funding for an epidemiology study at Hanalei to verify that the high bacterial count is a public-health concern.
Dr. Marilyn Roderick, who has a medical practice on the North Shore and specializes in epidemiology, has volunteered to coordinate the hui-sponsored project, Berg said.
State Department of Health officials said that if a public-health problem arises, they will respond.
Gary Ueunten, an environmental health specialist with the Kaua‘i DOH office, said “until we have hard scientific evidence, it is hard to agree or disagree with what he (Berg) says.” However, water studies have been done, and results don’t correspond with Berg’s claims, Ueunten said.
Four years of data on test samples and analysis of enterococcus found at Hanalei are to be presented at the meeting. The Hanalei Watershed Hui sponsored the study, which focused on bacteria found in the bay and river.
The situation in the Hanalei watershed potentially exists in any shoreline area on Kaua‘i where there are cesspools and improperly maintained septic tanks, Berg contended.
Berg said two methods were used to study for the presence of bacteria, and the results in both cases showed levels of enterococcus were beyond EPA-acceptable levels.
Berg said the bacteria count “on a mean basis” should not exceed 35 bacteria for every 100 milliliters of seawater.
Using one method, researchers tested water in front of beach parks along Hanalei Bay between January and September this year.
They found Hanalei River had a mean value of 324 bacterial count for every 100 milliliters of seawater, water at Hanalei pier had a 42.5 count, water at the Hanalei pavilion had a 15. 4 count, and Pine Trees (a popular surfing spot) had 17 bacteria.
Using another method, researchers found the bacterial level in the Hanalei River exceeded a 104 count 86.1 percent of the time this year; Hanalei Pier waters exceeded the 104 count 29.3 percent of the time; Hanalei Pavilion ocean water exceeded the 104 count 10.2 percent of the time, and Pine Trees exceeded the 104 count 10.8 percent of the time.
Bacterial levels dropped during the summer months when rainfall was negligible, Berg said, but the counts go back up during the rainy season, theoretically resulting in more sewage residue finding its way into the Hanalei watershed, Berg said.
Wai‘oli, Waipa and Waikoko streams (which bring fresh water to Hanalei Bay) also have had bacteria levels that were greater than the 104 bacterial count, Berg said.
But both study methods bore out the fact that the water has a high level of bacteria that could cause health problems, he said.
Berg said the study results suggest the high bacterial counts could be from sewage that finds its way underground to the river, bay and streams.
The bacteria count backs off during the dry months, but climbs again during the rainy season, when underground sewage residue finds its way to the Hanalei watershed.
But Ueunten said DOH tests done in the Hanalei watershed have not corresponded with the hui study findings. DOH staffers have conducted special studies in the Hanalei area, and have included testing of the septic system at Black Pot Beach in Hanalei Bay, Ueunten said.
“We also did dye-testing of two water systems near the river to determine if there were direct discharges to the river, and in both cases we didn’t detect direct discharges,” Ueunten said.
Berg said he, Surface and hui members also thought the high bacterial count might stem from boaters flushing toilets into the Hanalei Bay during the summer. Their studies didn’t bear that out.
Water samples were taken every Monday and Tuesday during the four-year study, which concluded Sept. 29, Berg said.
Researchers took samples around the boats and didn’t find higher readings, suggesting the boaters were mindful of the researchers or heeded literature from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources to use onshore restrooms, Berg said. The state agency imposes fees for the boat moorings.
“It is possible the boaters are being good citizens, and are using the restrooms,” he said. It is also possible the boaters flush out toilets aboard the craft at night, and the waste is carried away by the current before hui researchers can take their samples the following day.
“We presume that they know that we will paddle out the next morning, and they could be flushing out at night, and the waste gets washed away at night,” Berg said.
Researchers also thought the high count might be attributable to waste from wild pigs and other animals living mauka of the watershed.
But they ruled out that theory because “you would have a lot of that (waste) to have such a high bacterial count,” Berg said.
But Ueunten said DOH staffers conduct weekly freshwater tests at the end of Weke Road by the Hanalei River. DOH staffers also take weekly samples of bay water by the Hanalei Pavilion and the Wai‘oli Beach Park.
“Occasionally, we get spikes in the (bacterial) count, and sometimes the spikes correspond with lower salinity, which is probably because fresh water from the rivers are impacting the area,” Ueunten said.
But problems with the bacteria will get worse before they get better in the Hanalei area, Berg contends.
The island population is bigger, and more vacation rentals are in operation in Hanalei, Berg said. “It means more flushing,” he quipped.
With the data in hand, the Hanalei Watershed Hui was awarded a $933,000 EPA grant to help reduce the presence of the bacteria in the Hanalei watershed, Berg said.
Of those funds, about $700,000 came from the federal government, and the balance came from in-kind contributions from the state, Kaua‘i County (through the planned upgrading of some county restrooms along Hanalei Bay), and the community, Berg said.
“With the money the hui has received, the hui is going to try to upgrade the facilities that are along the Hanalei River and Waipa Stream,” Berg said.
Berg also said the Hanalei River has been listed by state officials as an unimpaired waterway, and that the hui hopes the same can be done for the three streams, as a way to help find solutions to bring down the bacteria levels to acceptable levels.
Berg suggested the state Department of Health post signs at beaches to warn beachgoers about high concentrations of bacteria.
Ueunten said DOH officials don’t post signs or close beaches “because we don’t know the source, and if we determined the source of human sewage, yes we would.”
