Air conditioning out at UH-West Oahu
The University of Hawaii-West Oahu remained without air conditioning Tuesday evening after its chiller units went down Monday morning, but officials say classes are still being taught.
Malfunctioning equipment knocked out the AC in all five buildings on the Kapolei campus. A university spokeswoman said in a statement that UH is working with a mechanical contractor to troubleshoot the problem and that parts are being flown in from the East Coast. There is no estimate for completion of the repairs, the university said.
Kahuku students return to school
Kahuku Intermediate and High School will be open Wednesday after a water main break on campus was repaired, the Department of Education said.
Students had the day off Tuesday after the break occurred at the entrance to the 1,500-student campus on Kamehameha Highway.
Realtors fight proposed rules on cesspools
LIHUE » Kauai real estate agents are opposing proposed new statewide rules regulating cesspools.
The state Department of Health wants to ban the installation of new cesspools. It also wants to require property owners to either connect to a sewer system or install a septic system within 180 days after a property is bought.
The Kauai Board of Realtors said the cost of installing such upgrades would adversely affect buyers and sellers, the Garden Island newspaper reported.
Lee Morey, president of the Kauai Board of Realtors, said she has been encouraging homeowners to read the proposed changes and comment to the department. A new septic system is costly and difficult to finance, she said.
"If (a) seller even had the ability to install a new wastewater system, a $15,000 to $25,000 cost in many cases could make the difference in breaking even on a sale or having a short sale," the board’s news release said.
This year on Kauai, 156 homes have been sold for less than $500,000. Of these, 95 have cesspools.
Sina Pruder, the state Department of Health’s Wastewater Branch chief, said the proposed rule changes adopt the same requirements that other states already use to upgrade existing cesspools. The changes are needed to protect the environment, she said.
Most cesspools are deep holes where untreated waste is allowed to leach out naturally. Pruder estimates that these cesspools release as much as 23,700 pounds of nitrogen and nearly 6,000 pounds of phosphorus into the ground per day.
