Extremely Polluted Water In Hawaii....

General Discussion
41

And now we find out the city never obtained permission for the dump:

http://starbulletin.com/2006/04/07/news/story02.html

The city also could’ve avoided all of this if they had followed a mandate back a couple of years ago, to fix this problem before it explodes! Someone dropped the ball and people should get fired over this. I am appalled.

They also had to option of NOT dumping into the Ala Wai and just let it all backup into hotels and businesses, which is what they SHOULD’VE done. The gross mistakes of people should not be dumped unto nature. Let them be responsible for their actions. So what if it hits them in the pocketbook? To ignore the warning signs of impending trouble is their own fault.

That’s my soapbox for the day!

42
Quote:

two words

drugs

money

in a society increasingly split between the haves and the have-nots

you get a situation like this…

It’s hard to get around organized crime /politics / and environmental catastrophe when the powers at hand don’t fight for the right reasons.

The city of Santa Barbara adopted measure B, or D, to clean up its urban creeks and restore native steelhead trout and clean up the watersheds. The simple concept of cleaning creeks has now become so mangled in administration, and administrators making$100,000.00 / year, that the measure B funds are funneled off so 40% goes to the administration. A lot gets talked about over and over. Measure B is a tax on tourists, something of a bed tax, approved by the voters. The politicians seem to fight over those dollars. There is some good coming out of it, but it’s amazing the amount of money spent on things other than cleaning the watershed.

I can’t say much on organized crime, but I bet tourist in Hawaii are taxed up the wahzoo. When the tourist money stops coming in when the unsafe beach signs go up maybe the municipalities can upgrade their infrastructure to handle the flow. A self sustaining system would be nice, but every time I’ve come over and stayed in Town, It’s madning watching the consumption in such an endless one way cycle.

43

kin of timely I guess…

This morning’s headlines: 3 officers indicted in gambling bust They are accused of warning a North Shore operation of impending HPD raids

must say something when in a meeting tuesday I had with the head of the local FBI office, he told us that their primary mission here is to combat political and other forms of corruption. Next to that was their mission to combat terrorism…

When corruption and racketeering ranks higher than terrroism among the feds that says something about the environment.

the ongoing and continuing problem here in hawaii is the significant stake that the “underground economy” or unreported income and cash based transactions plays in the survival of normal folk in a convolutedly inflated economy. Especially when most of the jobs here are serviced based and most of the profits are shuttled immediately off island. Drugs are just another form of income and robbery just another part time job. Tourists never press charges and the people who come here only want to go home once they get disallusioned about the place. Its a place always in a constant state of flux so it’s hard to set a stake in the ground to push a real agenda.

most of the impact to Hawaii comes from the outside and that’s because of the flow of the dollars that line a certain groups pockets (those that decide what happens here). Hawaii will continue to be used and bled for the profit it’s natural beauty provides to those sucking away it’s life blood until there’s no more value it can provide them. Then they will just go somewhere else leaving behind what they leave behind. It’s really like the great alaskan gold rush (property wise) in disguise. Once the value prop disappears to the outside investors those that remain will be allowed the opportunity to rebuild it back to what it was again…

But that’s many decades down the road and probably well after I’m gone…

meanwhile you do what you can do

that’s all god expects out of you

44

Update:

Oliver Johnson died last night due to his infections

Another lady surfer a Ms. Kennedy has reported come down with four types of infectious contaminations after surfing in waikiki with an open cut after the spill and before the warning signs went up on the beach.

I’m sure there’s more to come…

EPA says the city was wrong to divert the sewage to the Ala Wai instead of running lines to another line. The canal was closer and an easy option for the city workers…Probably a bad onsite call in the pouring rain conditions at this time this happened. Someone will lose their job over this if the union doesn’t fight it. City and State workers have strong local unions that allow them to get their reputation as workers… Good or bad depends whether you’re in one of the unions out here or not…

45 
Howzit oneula,Haven't read todays paper yet but yesterdays Advertser article about how the sewage fed and made the flesh eating bacteria spread was very interesting. What a shame the guy died, but then again the idea of going through life with out any limbs is a scary thing also. The state is probably going to get sued to the hilt over this. Aloha,Kokua
46

The city also could’ve avoided all of this if they had followed a mandate back a couple of years ago, to fix this problem before it explodes!

You should be appalled. Sounds like Katrina. In the long run, its always cheaper to avoid major problems. Wouldnt it have been great if those levees were upgraded well before the storm? Or upgraded sewer treatment in Honolulu before the rains?

This is all so bizzare…

47

Then Houston wouldn’t have so many N.O. felons running amuck…but ya know, the ocean is Hawaii’s heart and soul and what brings the millions of tourists every year. Watch, coverups are in progress and finger pointing as we speak.

48
Quote:

Update:

Oliver Johnson died last night due to his infections

Another lady surfer a Ms. Kennedy has reported come down with four types of infectious contaminations after surfing in waikiki with an open cut after the spill and before the warning signs went up on the beach.

I’m sure there’s more to come…

EPA says the city was wrong to divert the sewage to the Ala Wai instead of running lines to another line. The canal was closer and an easy option for the city workers…Probably a bad onsite call in the pouring rain conditions at this time this happened. Someone will lose their job over this if the union doesn’t fight it. City and State workers have strong local unions that allow them to get their reputation as workers… Good or bad depends whether you’re in one of the unions out here or not…

The city was wrong to do that and its really sad to see.

Ill tell you im not going anywhere near town beaches for a long time. Even the sand on the beach is contaminated…no thanks

The city has focused on tourism and other things to the point where we didnt even maintain our own city with antiquated sewage system and roads so full of holes you need a 4X4 to drive around.

49

Let me preface this by saying that I agree with everything that’s been said here. Hawaii is indeed being exploited by evil forces that plot destruction.

That being said, last I heard Hawaii was still a democracy. Find out who is responsible and THROW THE BUMS OUT!

Rgds,

P.O.P.E.

50

Damn,I never thought hawaii would have a sewage problem like we do here in california.Hope they fix the sewer lines and it never happens again!!

51

word out is alot more people are getting sick…

it’ll be kept underground for now HIPPA and all.

until the lawsuits startup…

most were too stupid to heed the warnings and are now looking for help to resolve their ills.

sometimes I don’t understand why surfers/people like this don’t head the warnings or obvious common sense decisions and then want someone to help them after they screw up…

My bro and I talked about that maybe this is the gods way of clearing the lineup of idiots or at least teaching them a very scary lesson.

I wonder if they ever thought about wanting to swim in a cesspool before they made such a stupid decision as to get exposed…

what’s this line of thinking again?

Oh yeah I’m indestructable… (not)

Oh yeah I’m on a longboard…

Oh yeah I’ll spit it out…

Oh yeah I’ll wash with soap after…

idiots all

they deserve what they get for dipping their heads in their own toilet…

Again sometimes I don’t understand these kind of people act like an embicile then sue for their own stupidity.

Most of us here saw what happened and knew better and have stayed away from the temptation why didn’t they…

And as far as Oliver Johnson.

It was never his intent to get thrown or fall into the Ala Wai it was bad fate that befell him and it is very sad.

35 yrs old

an dead less than a week after getting beat up and being exposed.

52

It turns out that Oliver was a drunk. Could have been drunk at the time of his “slippage” into the Ala Wai. He was a 34-year old that suffered from “chronic alcoholic liver disease”, which you get (at the age) by heavy drinking and it also contributes to the flesh-eating infection’s ability to take hold. So…yes, it’s a tragic story. The ensuing legal recourse will be interesting to observe, I’m sure both sides will put up a solid fight.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060408/NEWS01/604080336

As far as the sewage problem in Waikiki, it’s not the only place. Kailua to Waimanlo…it’s frikkin’ everywhere. Hawaii really needs to address it’s doo-doo problem. I say put the rail project on hold and fix THIS problem first.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060408/NEWS01/604080334/1001

53

old song

“I have seen adventures in paradise”

brings glowing memories

of beauty

idylic scenes

perfect waves

sunsets

sunrises…

and coincidental for others

sometimes only a few feet away

horrors beyond belief

truely oliver’s was the latter

horror beyond the pale.

god bless his mortal soul

tourtured by bad lifestyle choices.

staying up late in waikiki

is a magnet for mayhem

haole guy?drunk?ATA BAR?

strike strike and strike

the ala wai ? if you need to hear it…

the last time it was a viable choice to swim ,or fish,or…

was some time back.like 30 years ago.

the bilge of the former swamp of waikiki.

by the way ,the classic land scam of the twentieth century

swamp>drainage ditch and land development

evolved to one of the more coveted residential areas

in the world… not a secret .

for going on a hundred years

do new yorkers swim in the east river?

or the hudson?

Hantz Hall did swim

in the rivers of new york city.

is the planet angry?

no ,

it is doing yhe best it can

under the circumstances.

Butch Van Artsdalen [sp sorry]

died at thirty nine

heavy drinking does not prolong life

a liver can take only so much.

autopsy’s aside

Oahu’sstatus

as the gathering place in hawaiian tradition,

in my awareness,

is in jeopardy…of becoming

the litigation island

the litigants over the unfortunate

sewage problem are lining up the

chess pieces at every bar in waikiki

memorializing fecum

past under the ala moana bridge

May the pumps dipping into the entrapped

debris in the Ala Wai yacht harbor

strike gold and oil and may the

waters from the mountains

finally find peace

as they spread out in the

spectacle of waikiki.

“Waikiki”

the george helm rendition

of the song can give me chills

just thinking about it

I wrote another verse

that hangs on my shop wall

this is an oppertunity

to write yet another chapter

in the saga of waikiki.

not every story is Idylic.

most of the good stories

are you really missed it stories

like you shoulda been here just before

you ever thought of coming.

God bless Waikiki

the Grand Mother of modern surfing

“Kuupuna Wahine o’ h’e’ nalu”…???

…ambrose…

"at dawn when daylight is streaming

I find myself dreaming

dreaming of the whispering

surf of waikiki

whispering

number threes

number threes

number threes

54

Read this and weep:

http://www.healthebay.org/news/2006/02_13_sewagesand/default.asp

I wonder how bad the sand is in Waikiki??? I bet REALLY bad. If the city refuses to have an independant 3rd party oversee the cleaning of the beach, you’ll then know there’s a cover up brewing.

55

unless you live here

I really don’t see the purpose of all this…

It’s a problem we locals wll have to deal with in our own ways

anyone making comments from the sidelines should try and remember that…

just pray that we can find a way to make it better…

56

The purpose is to shed light on the situation to all who love the ocean. The more people that are enlightened, the more an organized effort against corrupt city politics across the nation can be successful. If you aren’t part of the solution, then you’re part of the problem. We have to unite and clean up our oceans!

57
Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed people can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.- Margaret Mead
58
Quote:

unless you live here

I really don’t see the purpose of all this…

It’s a problem we locals wll have to deal with in our own ways

anyone making comments from the sidelines should try and remember that…

just pray that we can find a way to make it better…

???

Sounds like a lonely way to go. People in other places have been dealing with sudden pollution situations on various scales apparently a lot longer than people in Hawaii…every time it rains in Southern California the governments say to stay out of the water for at least 72 hours, and that goes up if rain events compromise waste treatment plants or there are sewer line breaks…Malibu is at the end of a creek that gets most of it’s water from a sweage treatment plant and every time the creek breaches the sand berm the toxic cocktail empties into the one break on earth with anything remotely like the fame of Waikiki.

59

do some research guys…

we’ve been having problems here for years at Waimanalo and Kailua beach and its still happening even though we’ve been fined by the EPA big time during the last administration which led to the sewer system and sewer fees…

Unfortunately tourists and the previous mayor seemed only interested in more coconut trees on Kuhio which had to be later pulled out and sunset/brunch on the beach funding that’s preventing the island infrastructure, roads, sewer, water from being up to date.

You know how many water main breaks we have out here?

The townies will atest that its weekly if not daily sometimes.

Yeh turning Oahu and Maui into one big party place for the non-residents and part-time residents is the cause for most of the neglect to other more basic matters. But if you want to build disneyland hawaii style you got to route the money for the facade and not the toilets.

Been here over 50 years, my ancesters over many centuries

still haven’t found any really good change achieved by people who don’t live here and call this place home versus people that do. Everything happening and that has happened to make this place the way it is is a direct result of outside interference. Like Blane said people coming here telling us how to do things cause we apparantly don’t know any better.

Believe me we do

I bet you’ll be hard pressed to find a “real local” who didn’t know better when they should go in the water and when they shouldn’t. It’s pretty much ocean common sense we all have it some times we’re just to lazy or selfish to listen to what it’s telling us.

I feel sorry for Mufi and the city…

All these wise crackers like to speak up after the fact.

Funny didn’t see any of them volunteering to help out the city crew when the pipe burst.

Oh yeah I forgot it’s that “it’s not my job”, “it’s all about me” crew that’s making all the stink now when they should’ve been getting in the stink trying anything possible not to feed the blowout into the near by ala wai…

But I bet everyone was hiding high and dry in their overpriced homes/condos during that torrential rain last week while a bunch of wet and frustrated workers were trying to solve the immediate problem on their hand.

Same thing going on about the dam thing on Kaui

bunch of arm chair quarterbacks saying this and saying that

what did they do to prevent it from bursting in the first place.

Oh yeah speaking of Kailua and Waimanalo beaches…

someone here volunteering to do some thing about those problems

or is this one event at Waikiki just the flavor of the moment…

Finally over on the west side where they dump all the islands crap anyway, the EPA has issued a statement saying that the poisonous gas emmisions from the Waimanalo Land Fill do not meeet EPA standards and the city going to get fined. Just like they got fined for the crap being dumped out to sea by the Ewa Sewage plant. Anyone wonder want that was doing to our water on the southwest side? The blessed tradewinds are our worst enemy cause it hides all the problems we have until they go away

Why isn’t all this other stuff being covered?

or does it need to make CNN before it counts.

Just think about it before you say all these things that’s all

Hopefully I’m speaking up here for the locals and if I’m not I apologize.

60
Quote:

Just think about it before you say all these things that’s all

I don’t recall anybody laughing about the problems occuring in Hawaii. Quite the contrary, surfers the world over seem to genuinely care about the place. Many of us outside Hawaii have dealt with similiar experiences where we live and that conceivably could mean experience with trying to mitigate the problems or find solutions, which could be shared. I’ve said it more than once across several other threads, but I’ll say it one more time and then be gone: marshalling the support of visitors to the islands, whose numbers dwarf the number of local residents, could be very effective leverage for meaningful change. People do care, and people do want to help, but they need an opportunity.

My best wishes for a safe return to normal waters, for us all…