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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1094.001 2016-2018 +t qF M,''7 Phone No.: (808)961-8272 Aaron S. Y. Chung �'c�� \iic Council Member ,���i Fax No.: (808)961-8912 • s. '• aaron.chun hawaiicoun ov District 2 South Hilo __ t . g@ h'g .................... � HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai`i Hawai`i County Building C7 25 Aupuni Street Hilo,Hawai`i 96720 — co--'( Date: October 1,2018 M To: Valerie T. Poindexter,Chairwoman Hawai`i County Council t vi From: Aaron S.Y.Chung,Council Member Hawai`i Country Council Re: Request to Refer and Distribute. I respectfully request that the attached information from the Clean Water Branch of the State of Hawaii Department of Health be referred and distributed for the Environmental Management Committee that is agendized for tomorrow,Tuesday, October 2,2018 at 1:00 p.m. Thank you. ASYC:awm Att. 104. 1Comm. No. Ref.To: P/61V1 Ref. Dote OCT 02 2018 Hawai`i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer I.Response to Sewage Spills When the CWB confirms a sewage spill that impacts state waters, an advisory will be posted on the CWB website and the CWB will issue email advisories to all subscribers.Advisory information is reported by the responsible party(owner/agent), including location, description, cause, spill volume, time of occurrence, etc. The CWB often receives preliminary information, such as cause and spill volumes, and will amend or update the advisories as new or confirmed information is received. A confirmed sewage spill is defined as a spill reported by a permitted wastewater system or a spill that has been verified by a CWB staff member. Under HAR 11-62, Wastewater Systems,Appendix C, a wastewater owner/agent(responsible party) is required to report to the HDOH, all spills of a thousand gallons or more, and for lesser spills if they present a substantial threat to public health. In addition,the responsible party is required to issue a press release notifying the public of the event and to post warning signs in the affected area. The responsible party is also required to perform bacterial monitoring for any spill greater than 100 gallons or when public health may be threatened. Complete requirements and response procedures for spills are specified in HAR 11-62. The counties of the state,the largest operators of wastewater systems, use warning signage that are consistent with those used by CWB. The CWB may post additional signs and collect additional samples, if needed, or if the responsible party is unable to. If monitoring is required,the responsible party must provide the CWB with all monitoring results and the CWB will determine whether the advisory may be rescinded and the signs may be removed. When the advisory is rescinded,the CWB will post an update on the website and will issue email notifications to all subscribers. II. Brown Water Advisories In the event of heavy rain or if a Flash Flood Warning is issued by the National Weather Service,the CWB may issue a"Brown Water Advisory" (BWA).Beach water need not be brown for a BWA to be issued. BWAs are so named because surface water runoff often carries soil and sediment and other pollutants that can cause the beach water to appear brown or have a turbid appearance.A BWA is issued when there is a strong likelihood of land-based runoff entering beach waters thereby causing the BAV to be exceeded. Land-based runoff from streams and drainage systems into beach waters may pose a health risk to swimmers from elevated bacteria levels. It should be noted that heavy rainfall need not occur on the beaches for a BWA to be issued; rainfall in the mountains may carry polluted runoff into beach waters through streams and drainage systems.Additional information leading to a BWA may come from CWB staff, county lifeguards, or other CWB partners such as community organizations who observe water conditions directly. Information from other sources will need to be verified by the CWB before a BWA is issued. Samples are not collected under a BWA, and if samples have already been collected, CWB may not wait for laboratory results prior to its issuance. The BEACH Act addresses illness that may be caused by microorganisms and does not address chemicals such as pesticides,heavy metals, and other toxic material which may enter Hawaii's beaches through surface water runoff. BWAs are believed to provide additional protection to Hawaii's beach users above those required by the BEACH Act. In the event of a BWA,the CWB will update its website and issue email advisories. Signs will not be posted, and samples will not be collected.BWAs may affect entire regions of an island, or even the entire island and it is impractical to post physical signs on and collect samples from all impacted beaches. Currently,news organizations voluntarily include BWAs in their weather broadcasts when time permits. The HDOH Communications Office may issue a press release at their discretion. BWAs are generally rescinded no sooner than three days after the event and when the water is no longer brown or turbid, as reported by CWB staff or community partners. The Hilo Sewage Spill The Hilo sewage spills occurred during an active BWA and the CWB received notification of the spill during the period of heavy rain and severe flooding. Due to safety concerns,the CWB did not require the posting of signs or the collection of samples at that time, since the streams were over flowing their banks, leading to unsafe conditions. The CWB did, however, inform the county that they were required to post signs after the flooding has receded to a point where it would be safe to enter the impacted area.After repeated attempts to contact the point of contact at Hawaii County, CWB was finally informed that the point of contact had retired during, or shortly after the flooding event. Despite this fact,the entire island was under an active BWA. The purpose of the BWA is to advise the public of the hazards associated with flood waters, including sewage overflows. The CWB would like to remind everyone that there is always a possibility of fecal contamination associated with flood waters. Sources include sewage system overflows through man holes, sewer line leaks, and cesspool overflows. These events may not be reported to the CWB until after they have been discovered. Some events such as cesspool overflows may never be reported. Other sources of fecal contamination may include animal waste from pets, farms, or feral animals or from human sources not associated with a sewage system. BWAs are proactive measures to inform the public of the possible hazards associated with flood waters. It is impossible to test all flood waters; however, all flood waters should be treated as potentially contaminated.