HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0131.014 2020-2022 P/COLWO I
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From: robert momsen
Sent: Monday, March 01, 2021 6:4.9 PM
To: Council Testimony
.Subject: Written testimony for Bill 25 of the County Council
Aloha
My name is Bob Momsen. My wife Carol and I have lived in Puako at 150 Puako Beach Drive since 1998.
We oppose Bill 25.
We love the ocean and the reef, as does everyone in Puako, and are in the ocean most days.
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The effort to get a sewer system for Puako has been pushed by a vocal minority of homeowners for many years and at 1
considerable expense. There have always been several problems with the ideas behind the project.
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The first problem is that the State and County have already recognized the importance of the reef and made changes
to the building code/permit process requiring a modern septic system whenever a building permit is issued. I believe
that this has been in place since the 1990s and a large fraction of the homes are now on good septic systems and off
cesspools. I am unaware of any health issues related to the water off Puako.
The second problem is that if you are marine research folks about the issues causing degradation, if any, of the Puako
reef, they will list global warming, sunblock, fertilizers, fishing, and many other things before they get to any
inadequacies of a good septic system.
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The third problem is that there are many if not most folks in the community who will not be able to afford the
remodel of their house and yard to install the pumps and pipes required to hook up to a sewer line.
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Finally, the Puako Community Association has glossed over the difficulty of building and operating a sewer
system/water treatment plant. It is impossible to imagine an easy way to dig up the road and install the piping, and
equally difficult to imaging each house cutting the road again for the hookup. If that is not enough, the PCA has not
addressed the issue of who will run the water treatment facility, what happens with power outages, and how will the
inevitable cost overruns be handled within the community.
I ant sure that there are many needs in our community that would benefit from the proposed $1.8M and should be
given a higher priority.
Mahalo
Bob Momsen
Comm. No. 1 t•1
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