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The public is being warned to stay out of Kaneohe Bay near Nakao Place and Yacht Club Place after an estimated 30,000 gallons of sewage spilled into the bay.
Tree roots blocked a sewage line, causing the sewage to flow Tuesday from 46-130 Kiowai St. into a storm drain on Lilipuna Road and into Kaneohe Bay, state health officials said Wednesday.
The spill was stopped at 12:27 p.m. Tuesday but plumbers remain on the scene.
The Health Department said that warning signs will be posted in the area.
LEHUA ISLAND
Rats detected at bird sanctuary
A rapid assessment team was deployed to Lehua Island on Tuesday after motion-detecting field cameras showed the presence of two rats on the island.
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources said Wednesday that it sent its non-avian predator control team to the tiny island off Niihau, along with experts from Island Conservation and the Kauai Endangered Seabird Recovery Project.
Last month, human observers using a variety of other monitoring devices detected no sign of rodents after a trio of aerial rodenticides were dropped in August and September on the island in an effort to eradicate invasive Pacific rats harmful to native seabirds.
After Christmas Day, Seabird Recovery staff reviewed camera cards that had been deployed for a research project and found images of the two rats, which are of unknown species. The images were captured between late October and December. The staff immediately reported the rat sightings to DLNR and Island Conservation.
The team, led by Mele Khalsa of Island Conservation, went to the island Tuesday for further investigation, and returned Wednesday morning, said DLNR spokesman Dan Dennison. They did not catch the two rats, but will return again for a regular monitoring trip on Jan. 16.
No further rat images were found from camera cards reviewed Tuesday from a total of 134 monitoring devices placed on Lehua, nor were any additional rats trapped, according to DLNR.
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