Most homes with cesspools are in neighborhoods without sewers. The task is daunting and costly, but scientists warn that problems from this unsanitary complication of island life will only be exacerbated by global warming.Ĭesspools sprang up across Hawaii during years of rapid growth and now are everywhere from old sugar plantation towns to the posh Honolulu enclave Black Point. Six years ago, Hawaii mandated removal of all cesspools by 2050. Hawaii has 83,000 cesspools - more than any other state - and about 20% are less than 1 kilometer (0.6 mile) from shore. We don’t want our children swimming in an ocean of bacteria,” said Dotty Kelly-Paddock, president of the Hauula Community Association. “We want proper sanitation as much as anybody wants it. And scientists say cesspool pollution may even percolate into streets and parks in low-lying former wetlands in the future. Sea rise also is pushing the island’s groundwater closer to the surface, allowing the cesspool effluent to mix with the water table and flow into the ocean. With climate change, rising seas are eroding Hawaii’s coast near homes with cesspools. This rural part of the island of Oahu is not connected to city sewers - and waste from toilets, sinks and showers is mostly collected in hundreds of pits called cesspools. But the stunning views obscure an environmental problem beneath the ground. HONOLULU (AP) - The town of Hauula packs hundreds of homes into a narrow strip of land sandwiched between verdant, towering cliffs of the Koolau mountain range and the Pacific.
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