Posted 07/29/2013
To the surprise of probably no one, scientists at the University of Hawai`i have determined, once and for all, that indeed, there is a link between the treated wastewater from the Lahaina sewage treatment plant and nearshore water quality.
Their study confirms what other researchers’ work had strongly suggested and it strengthens the position of plaintiffs in a lawsuit brought last year against Maui County, operator of the plant. The plaintiffs in that case – the Hawai`i Wildlife Fund, the Surfrider Foundation, the Sierra Club—Maui Group, and the West Maui Preservation Association – charged the county with violating the Clean Water Act by discharging into the ocean, by means of injection wells, partially treated wastewater from the Lahaina plant.
Nearly two-thirds of the injected wastewater reaches the coastal waters, the study found, and the pollutants released “impact coastal water and result in elevated nutrient concentrations.”
According to a press release issued by Earthjustice, which is representing the plaintiffs, the county and the plaintiffs are engaged in settlement talks aimed at finding a way to protect nearshore West Maui water quality and coral reefs from the wastewater discharges.
For more on the Lahaina sewage treatment plant’s operations, see the May 2010 and February 2012 cover stories in Environment Hawai`i.
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