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;'i ~Li; ,iii 1 ( 18 Dec 2004 <br /> To: Hawaii County Council Members <br /> From: John Y. Ota <br /> Ref: Bill 163, General Plan for the County of Hawaii <br /> I was born and raised in the County of Hawaii. Today, I am a retired citizen of this <br /> County. I retired from the Military, having served in Combat in Korea and Viet Nam and <br /> many other places in this world. I also retired from the Aviation Industry. <br /> I would like to specifically address the Hawaii County General Plan and highly <br /> recommend that the issues I present before the Council Members today be included into <br /> the General Plan. A Time Table for action to rectify the problems should also be <br /> included into the Plan. The issues I address concerns the health of the Populace, a <br /> permanent solution to flooding of Kamehameha Avenue, and Contamination of Rivers <br /> and costal Ocean waters. These issues are a reminder to the Council Members that <br /> permanent solutions have not been found to the problems. <br /> 1. Cesspool/ Septic Tank/County Sewage System <br /> 2. Aleanio Canal <br /> 3. Contamination in all Rivers/Ditches from Hilo to Hamakua <br /> 1. Cesspool/ Septic Tank/County Sewage System. Sewage disposal became a huge issue <br /> for the County to address a number of yeazs ago. The existing system today is a <br /> combination of Cesspool, Septic Tank and Sewage System. The County created the <br /> disparity of the Sewage problems when Sewage lines were installed from Papaikou to <br /> Hilo. Many homes did connect to the Sewage Line, however there are also a number of <br /> homes especially those very close to the shoreline, that did not connect to the Sewage <br /> System. The reason for this disparity given by the County was insufficient funds to add <br /> the additional pump stations to a 30 year old Blue Print and an attempt to meet the <br /> deadline to use all of the Federal Funds that were available. This is Crisis Management <br /> at its very best. In Kona, there are areas that were designated "above the main road <br /> install Septic Tanks, below the main road Septic Tanks are not required. There are <br /> homes on River Banks today that use Cesspools also. Control and disposal of human <br /> Sewage is a health problem to all Citizens of this County. The laws created by the County <br /> to address Sewage issues must apply to all businesses, homes and structures, regazdless <br /> of who owns the property. Is there a relationship between Cicatena and human Sewage? <br /> 2. Aleanio Canal. The County has closed Kamehameha Avenue about 5 to 6 times in <br /> recent years due to flooding. Routing the rain waters from Aleanio Canal into the Wailoa <br /> Estuary is the cause of the flooding on Kamehameha Avenue. The County created this <br /> situation. The quick remedy for one problem caused yet another problem at the same <br /> time. This is a good example of Crisis Management. Clean up of the road and the <br /> surrounding area was conducted by the County and some support groups. Tax payers <br /> money was used each time to clean up the mess. Why is this repeat process not <br /> eliminated? Surely the County could use the Tax Dollars more effectively for other <br /> <br /> projects? The closure of Kamehameha Avenue each time heavy rains appear above Hilo <br /> Comm. No. Z , q <br /> Ref. 70; ~ <br /> Ref. Uate. nFr 2 <br /> <br />