2021-11-24 EMC draft minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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d. Other Solid Waste Division Projects and Updates (No further discussion) e. Other Wastewater Division Projects and Updates replacement. And it is evidently in such disrepair that the project is to replace it. So we will be talking about that. Of course, what goes through her mind is, wow. If that force main is in bad shape, could there have been a spurt (in bacteria)? Vice Chair Gaffney said there was a recurrence the high Enterococci count in the Kailua Bay area. There has not been a rain or a high surf incident. One of the things that we are aware of, those of us who use those waters regularly, is that there is a confluence of laterals and very old sewer pipes. Some of the oldest sewer pipes in Kona are the ones that run immediately adjacent to that little beach and then come up against another pumping system in the area in front of the King Kamehameha Hotel. Its always of great concern because most of us who swim there do so for health purposes, so we dont want to be swimming in foul water. And there have been leaks in that area that the County did take care of fairly recently by lining those pipes. But that doesnt mean that something else hasnt opened up, especially with additional tourists coming into town. The King Kamehameha Hotel went from dead empty to nearly full very quickly, so that lateral is a point of suspicion. The recurrences really dont have any other logical finger to point at them. And he hopes the County can make the effort to double check and make sure that those ancient steel pipes, ductile pipes, in fact, havent broken again or havent broken a seal between the pipes to cause this and recurring potential health issues for people that are using those waters. Mr. Laude said we do have a project to repair a section along Alii Drive around the bay. So that is from the King Kamehameha Hotel to Gertrudes Jazz Bar, that general area, or maybe down to Huggos, and that is ongoing. We are in the process of developing a traffic control plan because we are going to have to close one of the lanes. So he is anticipating well have the traffic control plan done. And again, were kind of short staffed here, so he is doing what he can, but we hope to have that done next month so that we can get it to you and to Council so that people understand that, he said. We are going to try to minimize the inconvenience, but there is going to be some inconvenience. And getting back to the recurrence, a lot of times poor communication is a problem in organizations. So, what he does is he checks the DOH website and whenever they post something, he responds to that. And he did not see a second recurrence a few days later. He just saw the one, the high reading. They posted signs and then they took them back down a few days later. He will follow up with them and see, whether there was a reoccurrence or whether it was just a one-time deal. Chair Adams asked the Director to comment on any other significant projects or updates. Were working on the budget, he said. There are a lot of challenges for this years budget because of just the idea of the status quo funding levels. We got positions. We were once part of the Department of Public Works. We split from them probably (about 20) years ago. 24