EDITORIAL: Tap new city fund for cesspool help

Hawaii typically evokes visions of sandy beaches caressed by, for the most part, clean and clear Pacific waters. But in some areas, particularly those far from population-dense cities and suburbs, that idyllic ocean paradise is threatened by an overabundance of outdated cesspools.

Now banned in all 50 states and Puerto Rico, cesspools are typically pits dug to process raw human waste and sewage. Some are lined with concrete and others are simply holes in the ground, but they all work on basic principles to hold and — minimally — treat wastewater.

According to nonprofit Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations, about 83,000 cesspools pockmarking Hawaii release 52 million gallons of polluting wastewater daily, threatening drinking water, freshwater aquifers and ocean environments. A 2018 state Department of Health report identified an estimated 43,000 cesspools as risks to water resources, and about 6,700 were located less than 200 feet from a perennial stream channel.

State government is well aware of the issue and in 2017 enacted Act 125, mandating statewide removal or replacement of cesspools by 2050. Progress is slow-going, however, with less than 1,000 conversions or shutdowns per year, in aggregate. An estimated 10,000 cesspools are still active on Oahu.

A proposed initiative at the Honolulu City Council builds on Act 125 and seeks to tap a new climate resiliency fund that skims 0.5% from the city’s estimated real property tax revenue. Bill 15 would funnel some of those funds toward grants to assist homeowners with cesspool conversions or installation of lateral sewer connections. This measure must see adoption, with provisions.

In its current form, Bill 15 enables awards of up to $50,000 for households making less than $100,000 per year, meaning lower-income families will get the help they need to meet Act 125’s 2050 deadline. That’s a necessary start considering conversion estimates range from $10,000 to $50,000, depending on proximity to sewer lines and other construction factors. Sewering is a hurdle that must be considered.

During the Council’s Budget Committee meeting last Tuesday, city Department of Environmental Services Director-Designate Roger Babcock said that while Bill 15 could be beneficial to ratepayers, the city has no plans to bring sewers to areas not in close proximity to existing treatment plants. As Babcock noted, that will leave many cesspools unserved by the city’s “sewer improvement district projects,” including those on the North Shore. Septic tanks, an option for those where sewering is not planned, is pricey.

A weighted or tiered grant distribution system would best serve residents and the environment. Determining demand will require consideration of both economic and environmental need. On the latter, DOH designated priority categories as part of a report to the Legislature — Priority 1 through 4 on a decreasing scale of assessed risk to people and water. It would be wise to begin the process by meting out funds to lower-income households in Priority 1 zones, followed by or concurrently with incentives for higher earners in that same risk tier. That same calculus can then be applied to lower priority areas.

Bill 15 alone has little chance of solving Oahu’s cesspool needs, with an estimated $9 million entering the climate resiliency fund per year. In March 2023, a $5 million DOH cesspool grant program offered up to $20,000 to low- and moderate-income property owners to convert or connect their Priority 1 or 2 cesspools. That pilot project ran out of funds in three days.

A final breakdown on allotments has yet to be discussed, but pieces of the city’s new climate fund pie will finance important work related to sea level change, flooding, extreme weather events, ecosystem disruption and invasive species eradication. Though the deadline to eliminate cesspools is still 25 years away, there is much to be done and it will take the commitment — and resources — of many to phase them out. Bill 15 will be part of that solution.