HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-10-27 EMC testimony (09-22) Holmes, Stephen - Water recycling and costs
From: Stephen Holmes
Date: Wed, Sep 22, 2021 at 2:47 PM
Subject: Water recycling and costs
To: Elyse Morishita
Cc: Rick Gaffney, Dee Fulton, Jon Olson, Georjean Adams
Elyse:
Thank you for your vote today in support of a water recycling policy regarding the Kealakehe
Wastewater Treatment Plant. You asked about financing during the discussion today and I wanted to
share some thoughts on that.
The current practice is to take treated effluent and dump it in a hole in the ground sometimes referred
to as a sump. USGS has shown a direct hydrologic connection to federally listed coastal waters.
Essentially, groundwater from up mauka conveys the pollutants to recreational waters.
Water recycling would allow the County to get cost recovery by recognizing the value of the water
instead of throwing it away.
During my time on the Honolulu City Council, I pushed through the Ewa Water Recycling Facility. It was
done as a design, build, operate, and finance contract with Veolia and administered by the Honolulu
Board of Water Supply. It generates revenue through the sales of recycled water and pays for itself. It
was cheaper than new source water development. Billions of gallons recycled to meet the demands of
growth on Oahu. It is a key piece in integrated water management for Honolulu and is expected to be
expanded as the nearby City Honouliuli WWTP is built out.
Kona actually needs water recycling to reduce demand on the constantly failing high elevation wells
operated by Hawaii DWS. This, in turn, would extend sustainable yield in the aquifer. It is pro-business
as commercial users would pay less than they do for potable water.
The previous administration hired a consulting engineering firm which came in with a plan priced at
$160 million to upgrade the existing R-2 facility to R-1 which is an absurd number for a small 2 MGD
facility. It was a boogie man number intended to support doing nothing. Status quo. Worse, much of the
design was intended to throw the resource away, meaning no cost recovery for taxpayers. Yikes.
I have proposed using the same public private partnership approach that we used for Honolulu. Take
effluent from the existing facility so that no County employees lose their jobs and place a containerized
MBR unit to handle the R-1 upgrade with it being privately owned and operated. The contractor would
also install the pipes for distribution and handle marketing as the County has no expertise. Ideally, DWS
would be involved as they have the customer base, but they have chosen not to.
Cal Water which operates several water recycling facilities in Hawaii, including Waikoloa, has expressed
interest. Unlike the County, they have access to capital and to taxable depreciation on assets. The
Honolulu BWS did this with Veolia where they bought back the facility after several years and the tax
depreciation was fully utilized saving taxpayers big bucks. Other companies like Cal Water also have
water recycling facilities in the state and it would be competitively bid.
The County lost a Hawaii Supreme Court decision referred to as Konno regarding to the West Hawaii
Landfill being privatized (Waste Management). County attorneys have misinterpreted this as blocking all
private public partnerships, but I believe they are wrong based on numerous public private partnerships
we successfully entered into with no lawsuits by the unions. By having open discussions with the unions
and avoiding privatization and lost jobs, I believe it can be done on the Big Island.
The Kealakehe WWTP has a serious legal problem because dumping into the sump has no NPDES permit
under the Clean Water Act. This issue came up recently before the U.S. Supreme Court regarding
injection wells at the Lahaina WWTP. Maui County lost and is now moving ahead with water recycling. In
essence, Hawaii County is in daily violation and subject to large fines because it has no permit and the
receiving waters are already federally listed as impaired. Worse, the receiving waters impacted are part
of Kaloko-Honokohau National Historic Park and have special protective status. Actually getting a permit
is highly unlikely as you would be seeking a permit to add pollutants to an already impaired water body.
Really, water recycling is the only way out and the clock is ticking.
Again, thanks for your service on the EMC and for your vote in support of the motion.
Steve Holmes
Kailua-Kona