Waimea wastewater project wins project award for county

LIHU‘E — On Friday, Sept. 30, representatives from the county Department of Public Works and its Division of Wastewater Management received the American Society of Civil Engineers Hawai‘i Section 2022 Outstanding Civil Engineering Achievement award for Best Small Project, at the Kahala Hotel and Resort on O‘ahu.

“This achievement is a testament to the innovative work of our Division of Wastewater Management team,” said Mayor Derek Kawakami. “Not only does this project produce reliable recycled water for irrigation in Waimea town, but it also avoids expensive infrastructure costs, reduces energy use and preserves precious groundwater for our community.”

The winning project, the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant R-1 Process Optimization project, was a collaboration between the Division of Wastewater Management Operations and Maintenance staff and the county’s consultant, Kennedy Jenks engineers.

The project focused on adjustments to existing processes, which included reducing the equalization tank volume by 50 percent, constructing a polymer system and building a chlorine injection system. This resulted in consistent recycled water used for irrigation in Waimea.

Funded through the county capital improvement project budget, the award-winning project began in 2019 and was completed in 2021.

The project cost was $200,000.