Hanalei has been looking for a solution to its wastewater challenges on and off for decades. Its latest effort culminated in a yearlong wastewater planning study led by a local nonprofit, The Hanalei Initiative. It recommends the community pursue a liquid-only, pressure sewer system that will cost $19.26 million over 30 years. That determination was based on the system\u2019s cost, environmental benefits, long-term resilience and ability to minimize disturbing soils in areas with Native Hawaiian ancestral remains, or iwi k\u016bpuna.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou talk to everybody in the summertime, when the waves go flat and the water kind of sits in the bay more, and the frequency of earaches and things like that go up significantly,\u201d said recently retired North Shore firefighter Dane Smith, a project manager for The Hanalei Initiative.<\/p>\n
![\"Water](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/THI-WW-meeting-2025-courtesy-1024x768.jpg\")
Water resource engineer Matt Rosener presents the results of The Hanalei Initiative\u2019s groundwater monitoring at a community meeting in November. The nonprofit spent a year studying the town\u2019s groundwater and water quality and engaging the community to find an alternative to its cesspools. (Courtesy: The Hanalei Initiative\/2025) <\/p>\n
Native Hawaiians often buried their loved ones in sand dunes, their yards or other areas their families would guard. Between 1993 and 2024, iwi k\u016bpuna at 24 parcels in Hanalei were impacted by development work, according to The Hanalei Initiative. In some cases, remains were found 1 foot below the surface.<\/p>\n
Joel Guy, executive director of The Hanalei Initiative, said any cesspool solution the town pursues must incorporate cultural stewardship.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve got to take care of the place first,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The North Shore town is one of several communities around the islands looking for alternatives to the state\u2019s 83,000 cesspools, all of which need to be converted to modern septic tanks or connected to sewer by 2050<\/a>. The neighbor islands bear the brunt of them.<\/p>\n Search For A Cesspool Alternative<\/p>\n Located in the northern district, or moku, of Halele\u2018a, lush Hanalei has sustained generations of Native Hawaiians with fertile soils, expansive taro patches, or lo\u2018i kalo, and abundant fishing grounds. But as the town was built, its low-lying elevation, shallow groundwater and fast-draining, sandy soils have made it difficult to deal with wastewater.\u00a0<\/p>\n The four Hanalei sites that Surfrider Kaua\u2018i monitors for water quality have a mix of bacteria counts<\/a>. Bacteria levels tend to be lower out in the bay, but the test site at the mouth of the Hanalei River consistently has high levels of enterococcus, which indicate fecal pollution.<\/p>\n Cesspools dispose of but do not treat wastewater. In Hanalei, these systems are listed as the highest priority<\/a> for conversion. The town also has about 180 septic systems, which rely on leach fields that offer minimal treatment by gradually filtering wastewater through the soil.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hanalei Initiative installed monitoring wells at six locations to study the town\u2019s groundwater over a year. It found that groundwater sits anywhere from roughly 3 feet to 10.5 feet below the surface in those locations \u2014 fluctuating throughout the year \u2014 and that groundwater levels often rise into cesspool pits and saturate leach fields during wet periods, causing effluent to seep into the environment. Sea level rise is expected to compound that problem.\u00a0<\/p>\n Matt Rosener, a hydrologist and water resource engineer with The Hanalei Initiative, said for Hanalei and for a lot of coastal plains around Hawai\u2018i, the water table will rise at least as high the sea level does.\u00a0<\/p>\n Funded by a $218,000 U.S. Department of Agriculture Technical Assistance and Training grant, The Hanalei Initiative evaluated four options: keep the cesspools, convert them to septic systems, convert both cesspools and septic systems to aerobic treatment units, or connect to a pressure sewer system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Aerobic treatment units use aerobic bacteria to break down organic matter, often used for properties close to streams and rivers or where there\u2019s shallow groundwater. A pressure sewer system is fully sealed and pressurized so it\u2019s less impacted by groundwater intrusion or sea level rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hanalei Initiative recommended a liquid-only sewer system, which would remove solids at each property using a septic tank and pump only liquid wastewater to a centralized treatment plant. These systems are designed to connect to existing septic tanks and aerobic treatment units, so properties that have already upgraded their cesspools can often reuse their existing tanks.\u00a0<\/p>\n The sewer system would remove 100% of pathogens and about 70% of nitrogen from effluent. Aerobic treatment units would remove 90% of pathogens but, depending on the soil depth, only about 50% of nitrogen. Septic systems would remove 40% of pathogens but only 25% of nitrogen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sewer would also require less soil disturbance. Converting a single cesspool to a liquid-only sewer system would require excavating 81 square feet, compared with 375 square feet to install a septic tank and leach field for a three-bedroom house.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIn terms of your potential to uncover bones, you know, it\u2019s often times in the drain field areas, because it\u2019s kind of like digging up the whole yard for some of these Hanalei properties,\u201d Rosener said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The system would consist of small diameter pipes \u2014 roughly 1.5 to 4 inches \u2014 that can be buried shallow, such as a foot or two below ground.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u2018Our Lands Are Layered With Iwi K\u016bpuna\u2019<\/p>\n The Hanalei Initiative\u2019s efforts build on those of the Hanalei Watershed Hui, which in the early 2000s began exploring wastewater treatment options. The hui\u2019s work led to cesspool replacements along the Hanalei River and Waip\u0101 Stream.\u00a0<\/p>\n But there wasn\u2019t much interest in converting cesspools in 2017 when the group had a grant to cover half the cost for 75 cesspools between the Hanalei River and Wai\u2018oli Stream. Maka\u2018ala Ka\u2018aumoana, executive director of the Hanalei Watershed Hui, said the nonprofit ended up having to return the money because only three property owners were interested. Some told her they\u2019d wait for the government to take care of their cesspool problems.<\/p>\n \u201cI personally went door to door and could not convince people to install,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Now years later, Guy said there\u2019s much more of an appetite to find solutions. Over 100 people from over 30 organizations were involved in the current project, which included four community meetings to gather input and share findings.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf you get to that decision-making without the community involved, you\u2019re up against a real challenge to implement, no matter how beneficial the solution,\u201d Guy said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Among community members\u2019 concerns were impacts on iwi k\u016bpuna. Native Hawaiian ancestral remains have been encountered in Hanalei during new home construction, septic installations, leach field excavations, grading and other activities. State law requires that burial site disturbances be reported to police and the State Historic Preservation Division.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cAny wastewater solution on the North Shore \u2014 or anywhere in Hawai\u2018i \u2014 must begin with one non-negotiable truth: Our lands are layered with iwi k\u016bpuna,\u201d said Megan Wong, a North Shore resident.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wong shared some of her knowledge about iwi k\u016bpuna stewardship with The Hanalei Initiative and attended some of their community meetings. She is part of N\u0101 Hala o Naue, a group that does cultural monitoring and has been encouraging North Shore property owners to proactively conduct archaeological inventory surveys.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Hanalei Initiative\u2019s project meetings included education on burial protection laws, past archaeological findings in Hanalei, how existing cesspools and septic tanks overlap with those culturally sensitive areas, and the importance of minimizing ground disturbance and conducting proper archaeological studies.\u00a0<\/p>\n Wong, who supports The Hanalei Initiative\u2019s project, said that protecting the environment and iwi k\u016bpuna should never be in conflict. She thinks the project has an opportunity to set a new standard that truly prioritizes iwi k\u016bpuna from the beginning of planning, not as an afterthought once construction begins.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Guy said it was rewarding to bring the community together and have challenging discussions before more iwi k\u016bpuna are found.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you have those tough discussions and there aren\u2019t bones coming out of the ground, it\u2019s so much stronger than waiting till you discover bones,\u201d he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Climate Change Resiliency<\/p>\n Areas with iwi k\u016bpuna, such as Hanalei, need flexibility that traditional wastewater systems don\u2019t offer, said Stuart Coleman, executive director of Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations, a nonprofit that helps residents and communities transition away from cesspools. Under liquid-only systems, pipes can be installed using directional boring \u2014 in which installers have cameras to help them avoid rocks, tree roots and iwi.\u00a0<\/p>\n He added that these systems are also a good fit for coastal areas because they\u2019re better prepared for climate change and sea level rise.\u00a0<\/p>\n Hanalei is not the only community to look at sewer. Rosener, who also works in Washington State, said several coastal communities on the mainland are doing so because their septic systems are failing as sea levels rise. Locally, Hawai\u2018i island\u2019s Miloli\u2018i and Puak\u014d are also looking at liquid-only sewer systems.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Miloli\u2018i, Coleman\u2019s nonprofit completed a preliminary engineering report and fiscal impact study for the system. The community is figuring out its next steps.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Puak\u014d, the local nonprofit Puak\u014d for Reefs is working on selecting its sewer route and creating a Community Facilities District to help pay for the system, which would be run by the county and connect to the private Mauna Lani treatment plant. Wastewater from cesspools and inadequate septic tanks has caused coral cover on Puak\u014d Reef to fall from 70% to 7% over the last 50 years, studies show.<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/The-Hanalei-Initiative-Wastewater-Study-Feb2026-Baseline-Scenario-1024x786.png\")
Current locations of individual wastewater systems \u2014 including cesspools, septic tanks, aerobic treatment systems and wastewater treatment plants \u2014 in Hanalei. (Screenshot: The Hanalei Initiative)<\/p>\n![\"Joel](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260414-nfo-joel-guy-hanalei-2-1024x755.jpg\")
Joel Guy of The Hanalei Initiative said it was important that the nonprofit prioritize cultural impacts of the wastewater alternatives it studied. (Noelle Fujii-Oride\/Civil Beat\/2026)<\/p>\n![\"An](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/The-Hanalei-Initiative-Wastewater-Study-Feb2026-Iwi-Cesspools-1024x795.png\")
The Hanalei Initiative overlayed the existing locations of cesspools, septic tanks and aerobic treatment units with sites where iwi k\u016bpuna were impacted by past construction work. (Screenshot: The Hanalei Initiative)<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/05\/260414-nfo-hanalei-rainy-day-6-1024x683.jpg\")
High levels of enterococcus, which indicate fecal pollution, are often found at the mouth of Hanalei River. (Noelle Fujii-Oride\/Civil Beat\/2026)<\/p>\n
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Puak\u014d is exploring liquid-only sewer as a community solution to its cesspools. (Kevin Fujii\/Civil Beat\/2025)<\/p>\n![\"Civil](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/1753322412_339_logo10.png\"){kind=logo}
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