{"id":888788,"date":"2026-10-20T11:40:22","date_gmt":"2026-10-20T11:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/888788\/"},"modified":"2026-10-20T11:40:22","modified_gmt":"2026-10-20T11:40:22","slug":"water-pollution-hotspots-mapped-along-hilo-shoreline-big-island-video-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/888788\/","title":{"rendered":"Water Pollution Hotspots Mapped Along Hilo Shoreline \u2013 Big Island Video News"},"content":{"rendered":"

(BIVN) \u2013 Sewage pollution along the Hilo coastline is being tracked by a team from the University of Hawai\u02bbi at Hilo.\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to a UH news release, the study is the first to map wastewater pollution hotspots from King\u2019s Landing in Keaukaha to Honoli\u02bbi Beach Park north of Hilo Bay.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The findings could help prioritize cesspool replacement near existing sewer lines and guide upgrades to Hilo\u2019s wastewater treatment system, the University says.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cGrowing up in Hilo, these aren\u2019t just study sites, they\u2019re places I\u2019ve spent my whole life fishing, surfing, and spending time with family and friends,\u201d said UH Hilo graduate Joseph \u201cCrispin\u201d Nakoa, who led the research conducted in 2020-22. \u201cBeing able to answer questions that so many of us have had about the health of these waters has been one of the most rewarding parts of this project.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Waiolena Beach Park in Hilo. (courtesy University of Hawai\u02bbi)<\/p>\n

From the University of Hawai\u02bbi:<\/p>\n

Tracing the sources<\/p>\n

Researchers sampled 16 locations monthly, measuring bacteria associated with fecal contamination, nutrients and chemical signatures of nitrogen in water and limu (seaweed). These measurements helped trace wastewater from cesspools and Hilo\u2019s wastewater treatment plant.<\/p>\n

Wastewater was detected at every site, though most pollution indicators were found at low concentrations. Fresh groundwater flowing into the ocean diluted those signals, making contamination harder to detect.<\/p>\n

Researchers combined their measurements with nearby cesspool densities to identify hotspots that water testing alone could miss.<\/p>\n

Depending on the location, wastewater accounted for 8% to 49% of nitrate, a nutrient, in the water. Groundwater remained the largest source of nitrate.<\/p>\n

Supporting community solutions<\/p>\n

The study also showed that rivers carry wastewater to the coast.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe talk a lot about the importance of removing cesspools from near the shoreline, but it\u2019s also important to remove those near our rivers and streams,\u201d said UH Hilo marine science Professor Steven Colbert.<\/p>\n

Published in Marine Pollution Bulletin<\/a>, the findings supported a companion study that traced sewage from homes to shoreline springs within hours to days.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal with this data is to empower the communities\u2026so that they can seek funding for solutions to improve water quality, to make it safe for everybody in the community to be able to use these waters,\u201d said UH Hilo marine science Professor Tracy Wiegner.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"(BIVN) \u2013 Sewage pollution along the Hilo coastline is being tracked by a team from the University of…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":888789,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47],"tags":[192,79],"class_list":["post-888788","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-environment","tag-science"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888788","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=888788"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/888788\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/888789"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=888788"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=888788"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=888788"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}