Two North Shore conservation groups have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider the cleanup of water in front of Kaua’i County’s Black Pot Park in Hanalei Bay. The Limu Coalition and the Hanalei Heritage River Hui contend bacteria
Two North Shore conservation groups have asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to consider the cleanup of water in front of Kaua’i County’s Black Pot Park in Hanalei Bay.
The Limu Coalition and the Hanalei Heritage River Hui contend bacteria counts exceeded safe levels when a septic system at the park broke down last August.
The groups asked the EPA to include the site on a proposed agency list of 111 sites in Hawai’i that have been polluted by bacteria, trash and sediment, and are poised for federal funding for any cleanup.
Inclusion of the specific Hanalei site on the list could help bolster efforts to preserve the bay, one of the most popular recreational destinations on Kaua’i.
The list of polluted sites in the state came about after an environmental group on Oahu challenged the state Department of Health’s list of 19 polluted sites in 1998.
A federal court review last year concluded the number was in error and that the 111 sites were more accurate.
The 16 polluted Kaua’i sites include Hanapepe Bay, Nawiliwili Harbor, Huleia Stream and Hanalei Bay.
Other Kaua’i sites considered polluted are Waimea Bay, Kapa’a Stream, Hanalei Bay, Huleia Stream, Hanapepe River, Nawiliwili Bay, Waimea Bay, Hanapepe Bay, Hanama’ulu Bay, Hanalei Bay Landing, Kalihiwai Bay, Wailua River and Koloa Landing.
Dave Smith, an EPA official in San Francisco, Calif., said he has received a letter from the two Hanalei groups outlining their concerns but hasn’t read it and “can’t comment on it.”
“But when people provide information about decisions we have proposed – the list of the polluted sites – we look at it very carefully,” Smith said.
Hawai’i will most likely take up any request for more sites to be put on the list, which requires periodic updating, he said.
In a Dec. 24 letter to Smith, Limu Coalition spokesman Ray Chuan said the bacteria level of the water off Black Pot Park has exceeded safe levels during the past eight months.
Over the past 25 days, the bacteria count has reached even higher levels, Chuan claimed.
Chuan said the waters off Black Pot Park are a favorite recreational spot for small children.
Water sampling done by the North Shore groups from May to December showed the bacteria count was significantly higher than the count for waters inside the river mouth on a test day, Chuan said.
He said bacteria levels were particularly higher in the middle part of last August, the possible result of the breakdown of the septic system at the park during the summer when the site is used by numerous campers.
Officials with the county Public Works Department, responsible for upkeep of county structures, couldn’t be reached for comment Thursday.
Two other alarming readings for the waters around the Black Pot Park also were recorded shortly after regional and state outrigger championships were held in the bay last year, Chuan said.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
