Sewage Levels May Keep Waikiki Closed For A Month - LA Times

[hatrack]

HONOLULU — About 48 million gallons of raw sewage has gushed into the ocean off Oahu since a major sewer line ruptured last week, and it could take a month before bacteria levels at Waikiki beaches return to normal, city officials said Friday. More than 100 warning signs to stay out of the water were posted along a 1 1/2 -mile stretch covering 18 beaches from Waikiki to downtown Honolulu.

The 42-inch main, installed in 1964, cracked after weeks of rain, and the sewage was diverted into the nearby Ala Wai Canal. Repairs were completed on the main Wednesday, but the effects linger.

"This spill is such a large magnitude. We have never seen this before," said state Health Department spokesman Kurt Tsue. "It's pretty bad."

More heavy rain pounded the island Friday, triggering a smaller sewage spill, causing gridlock on the roadways, and flooding a mall and several homes. Toys, food, chairs and other debris floated in brown murky water at Kahala Mall after floodwaters rushed through the shopping center's theater complex. The water set off alarms and filled some of the 90 shops with more than a foot of brackish water.

EDIT

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/asection/la-na-hawaii1apr01,1,4797126.story

[BlackHeart]

1. I'm glad that they considered this

a large magnitude spill. We had a 330 million gallon overflow here recently (mid-Michigan)
and no one thought that it was a big deal.

Back to Hawaii. It surprises me that it would take a month for the bacteria levels to return to normal, what with this being the ocean and all.