New break compounds sewage spill

A second sewage line broke yesterday along the Pearl Harbor bike path, adding to a spill that started Friday, the state Health Department said.

The department’s Clean Water Branch said it was notified by the city Department of Environmental Services of a wastewater discharge into the canal along the bike path in Pearl Harbor’s Middle Loch.

City crews were working to repair the pipes.

On Friday, tens of thousands of gallons of sewage spilled into the area south of Waiawa Road, about 2,500 feet west of Lehua Avenue. Signs are posted warning people to stay out of the canal.

Lava Tree park closing for repairs

Lava Tree State Monument on the Big Island is closing again this month so the state may renovate bathrooms and resurface trails and pathways.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources says the park is expected to reopen March 15 or when weather permits.

State Parks Administrator Dan Quinn says the six-week closure is needed to keep park users safe while the work is completed. The renovations are costing the state a little more than $614,000.

The park was closed for three months last year for tree trimming around the parking lot and the reconstruction of the park entry road and parking lot.

The park southeast of Pahoa is known for the lava molds a lava flow left behind on tree trunks when it swept through the forest.

Volunteers wanted for forest project

The Friends of Hawaii Volcanoes National Park are seeking volunteers to help remove invasive plants next weekend.

The plants are nonnative faya plants that have sprouted in the Keanakakoi Special Ecological Area of the park. Some are seedlings that may be easily pulled out while others are maturing trees that will need to be cut down with saws.

The forest restoration project is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday. Volunteers must be at least 14 and able to hike at least a mile through uneven terrain and some dense brush.