Water samples will again be taken at Palolo Stream, along the Ala Wai Canal and off Magic Island on Wednesday after more than 103,000 gallons of raw sewage poured out of a manhole in Palolo that someone intentionally plugged.
The overflow was triggered by heavy rain as well as clothes and tricycle parts that had been dumped into a manhole on Ahe Street in front of the Palolo Valley Homes public housing project, said Watson Okubo, supervisor for the state Health Department’s monitoring and analysis section.
"Why would they do that?" asked Palolo Valley resident Bernard Kilonsky. "People do all kinds of dumb things for reasons I can’t understand."
The spill was first spotted at 9:10 p.m. Monday, but it took crews until 1:48 p.m. Tuesday to stop it by bypassing the affected manhole to give workers access, said Markus Owens, spokesman for the city Department of Environmental Services.
Officials set up signs warning people to stay out of Palolo Stream, the Ala Wai Canal, the water at Magic Island and surf sites Bomboras, Rockpile, Ala Moana Bowl, In-Betweens and Kaisers.
Water samples were taken Tuesday, and more samples will be taken Wednesday, Owens said. It will be up to the Health Department to determine whether the bacteria levels are safe.
In addition to clothes, tricycle parts and other debris, workers removed a boulder the size of a 5-gallon bucket.
"A lot of people don’t realize what goes on," Okubo said as workers continued to pull parts and clothes out of the manhole Tuesday. "It happens several times a year and in some areas of the island more frequently. This is obviously malicious. The vandalism is costing us taxpayers’ money that can be used to address other meaningful work projects."
A few years ago in Nanakuli, a manhole overflowed after being stuffed with an engine block, engine parts, tire rims and household trash.
"The guys gotta take out everything," Okubo said. "This is just a waste of taxpayer money."
At the same time, Kilonsky said he worries about an explosion in Palolo Valley’s feral pig problem, which he said contributes to a nearly constant state of brown-water runoff when it rains.
The pigs destroy foliage that would normally keep dirt and debris out of Palolo Stream, Kilonsky said.
"Usually by this time after a big rain passes, the water runs clear," he said. "Now it’s brown almost all the time. It just keeps getting worse."
