Hilo Bay, we have a problem — a problem of the worst kind. Human waste is contaminating this beautiful bay, central to the history of Hilo and, for centuries before that, a Hawaiian gathering place.
Yet under the circumstances afflicting the bay, the contamination is only getting worse. A study released this year by University of Hawaii researchers documents that whenever fresh water from land seeps into the bay, levels of harmful bacteria linked to human waste rise accordingly. This fresh water often flows directly from the thousand-plus cesspools — holes in the ground that human waste is poured into — clustered over fractured lava rock near the shore and along waterways flowing into Hilo Bay. Rain or incursion by seawater just flushes more of the waste and the bacteria that thrives in its presence into the bay, and this will happen more often because of climate change, with its changed weather patterns and rising seas. Warming coastal waters also worsen the scenario.
This pollution of Hilo Bay is alarming, above all because it threatens human health and the environmental health of the marine area, but also because it gives the area a pilau — dirty, stinky and repellent — reputation. In worst-case scenarios, should people increasingly fall victim to infections from the sometimes-deadly bacteria that proliferate in contaminated waters, the bay’s contamination could seriously damage the popularity of Hilo and eastern shores of Hawaii island as a tourism draw.
Hawaii island residents must demand swift, determined action to head off increasing contamination of the bay — for their own safety, so that marine life can thrive, and so that Hilo Bay does not acquire a nasty reputation. With a county mayor’s race heading to the polls in weeks, the time is right to call for leadership and a sense of urgency in finding solutions, and to expect candidates Mitch Roth, the incumbent, and challenger Kimo Alameda to display this commitment.
A $2 million federal grant to expand the research on Hilo Bay water quality beyond hot spots documented in the UH report has been acquired — but while that study is expected to position Hawaii County for bigger pots of federal money, results are up to two years off. Since the source of this contamination is fairly well documented, those who love Hilo Bay and want to protect it from increased fouling must call for a swifter response.
The single most effective way to lessen contamination of the bay is to remove and replace the many cesspools that release waste into it. But while Hawaii law calls for all cesspools in the state to be upgraded by 2050, progress has been agonizingly slow.
In July, House Bill 2743 was signed into law, requiring the UH Water Resources Research Center and the Sea Grant research program to identify priority areas where county sewer systems or other centralized treatment can be expanded to take on the waste now flowing into cesspools before 2050. It also creates a fund to help low-income homeowners convert their cesspools — a good step.
Unfortunately, however, a bill introduced last year to speed up conversions of cesspools in areas of high concern, Hilo and Hilo Bay included, and to add to grant funding to push progress forward did not make it out of committee. Legislation that will speed action on this foul problem must be introduced, with a more decisive push, in the upcoming session.
Further, Hilo’s municipal sewer system is in a serious state of disrepair, and while it will cost about $300 million to rehabilitate, it also must be expanded to take on treatment of cesspools that close up.
It’s questionable whether Hilo Bay and the communities around it can safely wait another two or 26 years to stop the flow of waste and pollution of this landmark bay. In coordination with the state and federal agencies, an immediate, urgent effort is required.
