LIHU‘E — Water played an important role in Hawaiian life, said Kehaulani Kekua, officiant of a dedication ceremony Friday. “When I look at a facility like this, I see the idea of purification and cleansing in a whole different level,”
LIHU‘E — Water played an important role in Hawaiian life, said Kehaulani Kekua, officiant of a dedication ceremony Friday.
“When I look at a facility like this, I see the idea of purification and cleansing in a whole different level,” she said.
Kekua presided over the Lihu‘e Wastewater Treatment Plant upgrade hosted by the Kaua‘i Lagoons in the shadow of a digester tank at the treatment facility.
Collaborating with the county Department of Public Works Wastewater Management Division, Kaua‘i Lagoons will construct a new effluent filtration system and ultraviolet disinfection system at the existing Lihu‘e Wastewater Treatment Plant located on the grounds of Kaua‘i Lagoons.
“This treatment plant takes care of almost all of Lihu‘e from the Nawiliwili valley east,” said an engineer from Aqua Engineers, the firm that maintains and monitors the plant. “Places west of the valley are directed to the treatment plant on Grove Farm property.”
The need to upgrade the current irrigation system at the Kaua‘i Lagoons golf course coupled with the current development plans prompted the move to upgrade the Lihu‘e wastewater treatment plant’s effluent quality from R-2 to R-1 to comply with the state Department of Health’s effluent reuse criteria, according to a release from Kaua‘i Lagoons.
“We were able to put together a private-public partnership plan where Kaua‘i Lagoons is putting together a disinfection plant which will expand when the wastewater treatment plant expands,” said Steve Busch, Hawai‘i regional vice president of Marriott’s Development Management. “This will allow other end users like the airport to use the ‘polished water’ for irrigation, reducing the load on the potable water supply.”
Currently, Kaua‘i Lagoons uses up to 1.5 million gallons of water a day to irrigate its golf course. This is done through an effluent use agreement with Kaua‘i County.
By improving the effluent to R-1 quality, Kaua‘i Lagoons Resort can utilize the effluent for unrestricted irrigation purposes, a significant sustainable benefit substantially reducing future potable water usage at Kaua‘i Lagoons, the release states.
The existing effluent pump station is comprised of three turbine pumps that will accommodate an average design flow of 2.5 million gallons per day with current flows under 1.5 million gallons per day.
One of the three pumps is designated for standby use. Two of the three pumps will be retrofitted with variable frequency drive units, and the bowls and shafts will be changed to better meet their pumpage operating design, the release states.
“The community wins because with the use of the upgraded R-1 water for irrigation, there is less load on the potable water supply,” Busch said. “The environment wins in that the upgraded R-1 has diminished effect on the near-shore waters and the aquifer.”
The new filtration/disinfection facility will include new tertiary filters to meet the R-1 water requirements and a new ultra violet disinfection system configured as a stainless steel open channel located adjacent to the tertiary disk filters.
These new system components will be situated within an equipment platform which will encompass an area of less than 6,000 square feet and the modular nature of the new facility will facilitate its expansion to keep pace with future growth of the Lihu‘e wastewater plant.
“This kind of partnership is important, especially now,” said Kaua‘i Mayor Bernard Carvalho Jr. “As we move forward, it is important to bring the key people to the table to get a better understanding of how the community can benefit.”
Kekua said the Hawaiian word for water is “wai,” and in ancient times, things of great value — wealth, success, values, assets — are all followed by the reduplicated wai, or waiwai.
Ed Tsupp, Wastewater Management chief, said the main thing is the water quality is improved.
“It is being done in a sustainable fashion and it’s being done real fast,” he said. “Partnering with Kaua‘i Lagoons, it’s happening this year instead of five years from now.”
Eassie Miller, CEO and president of Aqua Engineers, said this “milestone project” demonstrates Kaua‘i Lagoons’ broadening its stewardship of a precious commodity.
