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Home My WebLink About202661020 TABLE SURVEY - INPUT DRAFT/ Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 1 Hilo Bay Resilience and Watershed Management Plan Working Draft Summary of Priority Problems, Sources, Management Measures, Native Hawaiian Practices, and Implementing Partners Introduction and Instructions ......................................................................................... 3 Input Request ............................................................................................................. 3 Agency Acronyms ........................................................................................................... 4 Acronyms by Jurisdiction ............................................................................................. 5 A. Water Quality and Watershed Function .................................................................... 7 1. Pathogens and fecal contamination ................................................................... 7 2. Excess Sediment ...............................................................................................17 3. Excess nutrients ................................................................................................24 4. Trash and Solid Waste .......................................................................................29 5. Oil, petroleum, metals and urban chemicals ....................................................32 6. Pesticides and herbicides .................................................................................34 7. Emerging contaminants ....................................................................................36 8. Altered Hydrology (and thermal conditions) ......................................................38 9. Volcanic and geothermal water-quality effects.................................................40 B. Coastal Resilience and Natural Systems .................................................................42 10. Tsunami inundation and extreme wave events ..............................................42 11. Coastal, compound and riverine flooding ......................................................45 12. Sea-level rise, chronic inundation and rising groundwater ............................48 13. Coastal erosion and shoreline change ..........................................................51 14. Loss or degradation of coastal wetlands, estuarine/riparian habitat and natural shoreline buffering .......................................................................................54 15. Hilo breakwater, harbor-system resilience and altered coastal processes ...57 16. Vulnerability of critical infrastructure, utilities and community lifelines .......59 17. Degradation of Coastal and Marine Habitats .................................................61 / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 2 / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 3 Introduction and Instructions This is a Word version of the table circulated earlier that listed the priority problems identified so far in the Hilo Bay Watershed and within the bay and coastal communities. Alongside the identified priority problems are descriptions of the potential sources of the problems, potential management measures, and lists of potential County, State, and Federal Agency partners. Many of the identified problems came directly from community member input at the May 23, 2026, Community Listening Fair. Note that this is a preliminary working document. Management measures are high-level for illustration purposes. Already from initial discussions, some problems may be refined for clarity (e.g., 9 Volcanic and Geothermal Water Quality Effects). In addition, the University of Hawaiʻi was added as a State Agency. Some additional changes in this document compared with the draft table: • Reference to “Local Agency Lead” has been changed to Key County Agencies to align with the language used to identify Key State and Federal Agencies. As the plan and recommended actions develop, the leads, whether County, State, or Federal, will be identified. • Another summary section related to the summary of management measures has been added to collect examples of traditional Native Hawaiian practices that have been used to mitigate or avoid any of the identified problems. Input Request 1. Please review and add any appropriate community partners for each of the priority problems. A few examples are already added in. 2. Please add any related Native Hawaiian practice or practices used to mitigate any of the priority problems where applicable. References will be greatly appreciated. 3. Any other thoughts are welcome. You may add any agencies that we forgot about, or, if you represent an agency that has been listed and feel that it may be an incorrect “assignment” please let us know. 4. Email your completed document to Elizabeth.Dykstra@hawaiicounty.gov by October 16, 2026. A compilation will be reviewed by the Community Advisory Committee. Mahalo! / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 4 Agency Acronyms CTAHR College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, UH Mānoa, State of Hawaiʻi CWB Clean Water Branch (DOH), State of Hawaiʻi DAB Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity, State of Hawaiʻi DAR Division of Aquatic Resources (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi DEM Department of Environmental Management, County of Hawaiʻi DHHL Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, State of Hawaiʻi DHS U.S. Department of Homeland Security DLNR Department of Land and Natural Resources, State of Hawaiʻi DOBOR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi DOD U.S. Department of Defense DOE U.S. Department of Energy DOFAW Division of Fish and Wildlife (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi DOH Department of Health DOI U.S. Department of the Interior DOT U.S. Department of Transportation DPW Department of Public Works, County of Hawaiʻi DSP Division of State Parks (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi DWS Department of Water Supply, County of Hawaiʻi EPA U.S. Environmental Protection Agency FEMA Federal Emergency Management Agency (DHS) FHWA Federal Highway Administration (U.S. DOT) HawCC Hawaiʻi Community College, State of Hawaiʻi HDOT Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, State of Hawaiʻi HEER Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response (DOH) State of Hawaiʻi HI-EMA Hawaiʻi Emergency Management Agency, State of Hawaiʻi NCCOS National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NOAA) NMFS National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NRCS Natural Resources Conservation Service (USDA) NWS National Weather Service (NOAA) OCCL Commission on Water Resource Management (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi OCM Office for Coastal Management (NOAA) OHA Office of Hawaiian Affairs, State of Hawaiʻi OSCER Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience, County of Hawaiʻi OSPB Office of Planning and Sustainable Development P&R Department of Parks and Recreation, County of Hawaiʻi PD Planning Department, County of Hawaiʻi R&D Department of Research and Development, County of Hawaiʻi RD Rural Development (USDA) REPI Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program (U.S. DOD) SDWB Safe Drinking Water Branch (DOH), State of Hawaiʻi SHPD State Historic Preservation Division (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi SWCD Soil and Water Conservation Districts (DLNR), State of Hawaiʻi SWPB Surface Water Protection Branch (DOH), State of Hawaiʻi UHH University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, State of Hawaiʻi USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (DOD) / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 5 USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (DOD) USCG U.S. Coast Guard (DHS) USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture USFS U.S. Forest Service (USDA) USFWS U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (DOI) USGS U.S. Geological Survey (DOI) WWB Wastewater Branch (DOH), State of Hawaiʻi Acronyms by Jurisdiction County Agencies Acronym Agency DEM Department of Environmental Management DPW Department of Public Works DWS Department of Water Supply OSCER Office of Sustainability, Climate, Equity, and Resilience P&R Department of Parks and Recreation PD Planning Department R&D Department of Research and Development State Agencies Acronym Agency DAB Department of Agriculture and Biosecurity DHHL Department of Hawaiian Home Lands HI-EMA Hawaii Emergency Management Agency DOH Department of Health DOH CWB Clean Water Branch DOH HEER Hazard Evaluation and Emergency Response DOH SDWB Safe Drinking Water Branch DOH SWPB Surface Water Protection Branch DOH WWB Wastewater Branch DLNR Department of Land and Natural Resources DLNR OCCL Commission on Water Resource Management DLNR DAR Division of Aquatic Resources DLNR DOBOR Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation DLNR DOFAW Division of Fish and Wildlife DLNR DSP Division of State Parks DLNR SWCD Soil and Water Conservation Districts DLNR SHPD State Historic Preservation Division HDOT Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation OHA Office of Hawaiian Affairs OSPB Office of Planning and Sustainable Development UHH University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo HawCC Hawaiʻi Community College / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 6 Acronym Agency CTAHR College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Federal Agencies Acronym Agency EPA Environmental Protection Agency DOE Department of Energy DOD Department of Defense REPI Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers DHS Department of Homeland Security FEMA (DHS) Federal Emergency Management Agency USCG (DHS) U.S. Coast Guard DOI Department of the Interior USGS (DOI) U.S. Geological Survey USFWS (DOI) U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service DOT Department of Transportation FHWA (DOT) Federal Highway Administration NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NCCOS (NOAA) National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science NMFS (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service NWS (NOAA) National Weather Service OCM (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management USACE U.S. Army Corps of Engineers USDA U.S. Department of Agriculture NRCS (USDA) Natural Resources Conservation Service USFS (USDA) U.S. Forest Service RD (USDA) Rural Development / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 7 A. Water Quality and Watershed Function 1. Pathogens and fecal contamination Principal Sources / drivers: Cesspools/OSDS; sewer leaks and overflows; WWTP failures; animal and pet waste; feral/invasive animals, aquaculture/aquaponics. Summary management measures: Convert/upgrade cesspools and OSDS; repair/inspect sewers; reduce inflow/infiltration; overflow detection, emergency storage and backup power; improve treatment/reuse and groundwater monitoring; livestock exclusion/waste management; feral-animal control; pet- waste education; aquaculture effluent controls. Survey Q1 - Additional management measures: • It is important to have a special waste management plan for the next tsunami. All areas with toxic chemicals in the tsunami hazard zone should be identified and a plan in place for dealing with those substances to include during the time available before tsunamis from distant areas strike and post-tsunami plans following tsunami inundation of these areas. There should also be special Fire Department protocols to deal with ruptured fuel tanks and fires created from damaged electric power lines and other sources. • maintain % protected lands (define what this might mean), reduce number of impaired waters, meet existing and designated uses, achieve load reduction goals established in existing plans/TMDLs, develop restoration/protection plans more waters, ensure healthy biological communities, # of stakeholders engaged, long- term funding stability, strong working relationships across diverse expertise and organizations, leadership and accountability over success of plan, monitored water quality (or ecological etc.) improvements over time, $$ on the ground for implementation. • Establish a Hilo Bay watershed microbial source tracking program using routine enterococci monitoring plus DNA or chemical based source tracking to distinguish human sewage, livestock, dogs, birds, and other animal sources. This would help target limited funds to the actual source rather than treating every exceedance the same. Add a watershed-wide microbial-source tracking and public reporting program to identify whether contamination comes from human sewage, livestock, pets, birds, or other sources. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 8 • Prioritize cesspool conversion and sewer repairs using risk factors such as proximity to streams, groundwater, shoreline areas, flood zones, and documented bacteria results. • Build wastewater resilience through backup power, overflow alarms, emergency containment, rapid public notification, and post-spill monitoring. • Expand green infrastructure, riparian buffers, livestock exclusion and manure- management support, pet-waste facilities, aquaculture effluent controls, and humane feral-animal management. • Publish a simple, public-facing watershed health dashboard showing sampling results, sewage spills/overflows, cesspool conversion progress, stream conditions, rainfall, and beach advisories. Hawaiʻi DOH already uses enterococci exceedances to trigger follow-up sampling and public beach notifications; a Hilo-focused dashboard could make that information more useful and timelier for residents, schools, fishers, and ocean users. • Prioritize cesspool conversion and sewer upgrades by a transparent risk-ranking system: proximity to streams, springs, shoreline, drinking-water sources, flood zones, high groundwater, density of systems, and documented pathogen readings. Pair requirements with grants, low-interest financing, technical assistance, and options that do not impose unaffordable costs on lower-income households or kūpuna. • Create a rapid-response protocol for sewer breaks, wastewater treatment failures, and pump-station outages, including: o Automatic alarms and backup power. o Pre-positioned emergency pumping and containment equipment. o Public notification in plain language and multiple formats. o Follow-up water testing until affected waters are safe. • Require resilient wastewater infrastructure for flooding, storm surge, power loss, and heavy rainfall, elevating vulnerable equipment where appropriate, improving pump station backup power, sealing manholes in flood-prone areas, and reducing stormwater infiltration into sewer lines. • Expand green stormwater infrastructure where runoff can mobilize animal waste or overwhelm sewage systems: bioswales, rain gardens, vegetated buffers, restored wetlands, permeable surfaces, and appropriately maintained detention/treatment areas. These should be designed for Hilo’s exceptionally high rainfall and maintained over the long term. • Establish a watershed wide pet waste program, including bag dispensers and disposal containers at parks, trailheads, stream corridors, beach access areas, and / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 9 dense residential neighborhoods; clear signage; and education for visitors and residents. Include enforcement only where education and facilities are in place. • Provide livestock and animal, husbandry support rather than relying only on regulation: o Fencing to keep livestock away from streams and drainageways. o Covered manure storage. o Composting support and technical assistance. o Vegetated setbacks and rotational grazing plans. o Assistance for small farms, equine operations, and backyard animal keepers. • Adopt best management practice standards for aquaculture and aquaponics, including effluent testing, solids capture, treatment or reuse, emergency containment, and setbacks from streams, drains, groundwater recharge areas, and coastal waters. • Increase coordinated control of feral pigs and other invasive animals in high-priority upper watershed and stream corridor areas, coupled with fencing, native habitat restoration, and monitoring. Control efforts should be humane, culturally informed, and coordinated across public and private lands. • Develop a community reporting and response system for sewage odors, discolored water, illegal discharges, overflowing drains, dead animals, and suspected contamination. Reports should reach the appropriate agency quickly and allow residents to see whether the issue was received, investigated, and resolved. • Support schools, businesses, churches, neighborhood groups, and mālama ʻāina organizations in adopting nearby streams, drainageways, or shoreline areas for regular observation, cleanups, public education, and reporting, not as a substitute for government responsibility, but as an early warning and stewardship network. • The plan’s focus on reducing pollutant movement from the watershed into Hilo Bay is consistent with the U.S. Army Corps’ recommendation to first address watershed pollutant conveyance, identify pollution sources, and map erosion or runoff hot spots. The County’s stated plan process also calls for nature-based solutions while addressing water quality and community resilience across the watershed. • Establish source-tracking to distinguish human sewage from livestock, pet, and wildlife contamination so funding addresses the actual sources. Prioritize wastewater improvements near streams, springs, coastal waters, flood-prone areas, and documented contamination hot spots. Provide financial and technical assistance for lower-income households and kūpuna and evaluate shared neighborhood wastewater systems where individual conversions are impractical. Add routine septic-system inspections and maintenance assistance, a simple / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 10 public reporting system for suspected sewage releases, and a public dashboard showing testing results, spill notifications, and corrective actions. • regular OSDS maintenance and inspections; • does feral animal control include feral ungulate control? Survey Q2 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Native Hawaiian practices should be incorporated through an ahupuaʻa, mauka-to- makai approach grounded in mālama ʻāina, mālama wai, kānāwai, kuleana, laulima, and kilo. Traditional practice recognized wai as sacred; protection of springs and upper watersheds included avoiding polluting activities near source waters. Loʻi kalo, ʻauwai, riparian restoration, estuary stewardship, and community observation can inform modern, culturally grounded solutions • Traditional Native Hawaiian practice offers a mauka-to-makai, ahupuaʻa based approach to preventing contamination before it reaches the bay. Wai is recognized as sacred and life-giving, and stewardship includes mālama ʻāina, kuleana, laulima, and the principle of kānāwai—the shared and responsible use of water. These principles support protecting water at its source, preventing pollution, avoiding excessive use, and ensuring that water remains clean and available for downstream communities and coastal ecosystems. • Specific practices and concepts that could inform A1 include: o Ahupuaʻa management: Manage the watershed as one connected system from uplands to streams, groundwater, wetlands, estuaries, and Hilo Bay. This encourages responsibility for downstream effects of land use, wastewater, animal waste, and runoff. o Mālama wai / mālama ʻāina: Restore and steward stream corridors, springs, wetlands, riparian vegetation, and coastal transition areas as living systems that protect water quality and habitat. o Kānāwai: Apply the principle of equitable, careful sharing of water. Traditional understanding held that water users should take only what they needed and avoid polluting streams used by others downstream. • Protection of waipuna and upper watershed areas: Culturally informed protection of springs, headwaters, and other source-water areas is highly relevant to pathogen prevention. Traditional practices restricted polluting activities, such as bathing, farming, and animal husbandry, near upper watershed source areas. • Loʻi kalo and ʻauwai systems: Where culturally appropriate and hydrologically feasible, restore and support loʻi kalo, ʻauwai, riparian planting, and other traditional water-management landscapes. Loʻi systems depended on continuously flowing / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 11 water, with water returning to the stream after use, reinforcing careful stewardship and downstream responsibility. • Loko iʻan and estuary stewardship: Restore or learn from loko iʻan and muliwai management practices that recognize the importance of healthy stream mouths, brackish-water habitats, and coastal food systems. Such areas can also serve as places for observation of water quality and ecosystem change. • Kilo: Support community observation practices watching stream flow, water clarity, odors, fish behavior, rainfall patterns, spring conditions, algae, and changes at river mouths to complement scientific monitoring and help identify contamination early. • Laulima: Build shared stewardship among residents, farmers, cultural practitioners, youth, schools, agencies, and landowners. Water-quality protection is most durable when people upstream and downstream understand their reciprocal responsibility. • Our Native Hawaiian practices should be incorporated through ongoing leadership and consent from ʻike holders, cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, and affected communities, not treated as a menu of techniques to be extracted or applied without relationship, protocol, or benefit to the community. This is most important above all else. • Use an ahupuaʻa-based, mauka-to-makai approach that recognizes responsibility for downstream water users, fisheries, and coastal resources. Relevant principles include mālama ʻāina, mālama wai, kuleana, and laulima: caring for land and water and sharing responsibility for their protection. Traditional water stewardship emphasized maintaining clean flowing water and avoiding pollution that would affect others downstream. Protect springs, headwaters, and stream corridors, and incorporate practitioner led kilo to observe changes in to observe changes in water conditions. These approaches should be guided by local cultural practitioners, kūpuna, and lineal descendants. Traditional practices should complement not replace modern wastewater treatment and public-health safeguards. Key County Partners: DEM Wastewater; DWS; PD/OSCER; Animal Control; Banyan Drive Hawaiʻi Redevelopment Agency (PD) Survey Q3: Additional County Partners: • Hawaiʻi County Public Works • Planning • Parks and Recreation • Research and Development • Civil Defense, / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 12 Key State Partners: DOH WWB, CWB, SDWB, SWPB; DAB; DLNR DOFAW/DAR/OCCL; OHA; HI-EMA; SWCDs; DHHL, UHH PACRC Survey Q3: Additional State Partners: • DOA • HDOT Highways • DLNR CWRM • University of Hawaiʻi – Sea Grant • UH Hilo Marine Science • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo School of Geosciences • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • CTAHR Cooperative Extension • UH Mānoa Water Resources Research Center (WRRC) • University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management — agricultural best practices, livestock waste management, soil health, watershed restoration, and community education. • University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo, School of Geosciences — watershed processes, groundwater, flooding, rainfall, geology, erosion, and coastal-water interactions. • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Hawaiʻi Sea Grant College Program — community- based coastal resilience, water quality, education, extension, and support for locally driven solutions. • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, Water Resources Research Center — wastewater, groundwater, hydrology, water-quality science, and technical research. • University of Hawaiʻi Cooperative Extension / College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) — practical outreach to farmers, livestock owners, gardeners, schools, and community groups regarding nutrient and animal-waste management. • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 13 • University of Hawaiʻi System’s Indigenous knowledge and Native Hawaiian programs, including UH Hilo programs and faculty working with ʻike Hawaiʻi, language, history, cultural resource stewardship, and community-based research. • The final partner list should identify the specific program or faculty through direct consultation rather than assuming representation. • DLNR CWRM Key Federal Partners: EPA; USDA-NRCS; NOAA Fisheries; USFWS; FEMA Survey Q3 - Additional Federal Partners: • U.S. Geological Survey • USDA-Wild & Scenic Rivers? • US Census Bureau? • USACE Honolulu District • NWS Honolulu • Pacific Islands Water Science Center • Pacific Tsunami Warning Center, NOAA Survey Q4: Key Community Partners: • Hawaiʻi Wai Ola • Keaukaha Community Association • Leleiwi Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association • Kaumana Hawaiian Homes Community Association • Piʻihonua Hawaiian Homestead Community Association • Halai Kumiai • Kuʻu Home Stewardship • Hawaiʻi Water Environment Association • Big Island Invasive Species Committee • Environment One Corporation https://eone.com/ • The Nature Conservancy • Association of Clean Water Administrators (ACWA) – Beth’s note: DOH CWB is a member of ACWA and is both a Key State Partner; recommend removing from Key Community Partner list. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 14 • The River Network – Beth’s note: I could not find any local “chapter” connected with this organization. • Groundwork USA – Beth’s note: no affiliates in Hawaii; recommend removing from community partner list. • Hawaiʻi Rural Water Association • National Fish Habitat Partnership – Hawaiʻi Fish Habitat Partnership • Watershed and environmental stewardship o The Kohala Center — watershed restoration, community education, food systems, mālama ʻāina, and place-based stewardship. Beth’s note: Org serves North Hawaiʻi. Excellent knowledgebase and experience. o Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund — coastal and marine stewardship, community engagement, pollution education, and habitat protection. Beth’s note – Maui- based org with some work in West Hawaiʻi. o Malama Learning Center — environmental education, school engagement, water-quality stewardship, and community-based projects. Beth’s note: org serves West Oʻahu. o Surfrider Foundation, Hawaiʻi Island Chapter — beach and ocean-user education, volunteer monitoring, cleanups, and public awareness of water- quality impacts. Beth’s note – there is no Hawaiʻi Island Chapter. o Sierra Club Hawaiʻi Chapter / Moku Loa Group — public education, advocacy, trail and watershed stewardship, and volunteer engagement. o Hawaiʻi Forest Institute — watershed and forest restoration, invasive species education, and landowner engagement. o Hawaiʻi Island Land Trust — conservation, community stewardship, riparian and coastal habitat protection where applicable. (See Kūkūau Community Forest) Beth’s note – org name is Hawaiʻi Land Trust not Hawaiʻi Island Land Trust. o The Nature Conservancy Hawaiʻi and Palmyra — watershed conservation, invasive-species work, science support, and nature-based approaches where active within the planning area. • Native Hawaiian and cultural partners o Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi campus and community partners — education, land stewardship, cultural practice, youth engagement, and mālama ʻāina programming. o Office of Hawaiian Affairs beneficiaries and community networks — Native Hawaiian community engagement and policy perspective. o Hawaiian Civic Clubs on Hawaiʻi Island — community education, volunteer mobilization, cultural stewardship, and public outreach. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 15 o Hawaiʻi Island ʻike holders, cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, and ahupuaʻa-based community groups — essential co-leaders for appropriate integration of ʻike Hawaiʻi, kilo, restoration priorities, and cultural protocol. o Kōkua Kalihi Valley’s Hoʻoulu ʻĀina model or similar community- health/watershed partners — while not necessarily Hilo-based, models connecting health, food, culture, and watershed stewardship may offer useful lessons if invited appropriately. • Agriculture, animals, and landowners o Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau, Hawaiʻi Island Chapter — farmer outreach, voluntary agricultural best practices, and cost-share education. Bethʻs note – there is no Hawaiʻi Island Chapter, but there is a Hilo County Farm Bureau; o Local ranchers, livestock owners, equine facilities, and small farms — direct implementation of fencing, manure management, stream buffers, and runoff controls. o Hawaiʻi Cattlemen’s Council members active in East Hawaiʻi — livestock best practices and producer engagement. o Hawaiʻi Island Humane Society — pet-waste education, responsible pet ownership, community outreach, and coordination on animal issues. o Veterinary clinics, pet stores, dog trainers, and homeowner associations — distribution points for pet-waste information and responsible animal-care messaging. • Education and youth o Hawaiʻi Island public schools, charter schools, and Parent-Teacher-Student Associations — stream stewardship, student monitoring, environmental education, and family outreach. o Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi, o Hawaiʻi Academy of Arts and Science, o Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo, and other local schools — culturally grounded water education and youth participation o UH Hilo student organizations, faculty research teams, and service-learning programs—monitoring, outreach, data management, and volunteer coordination. o 4-H Hawaii and Future Farmers of America chapters—animal-waste education, farm stewardship, youth leadership, and practical best- management practices • Potential partners include Surfrider Foundation’s Hilo water-quality volunteers; local cultural practitioners, kūpuna, and lineal descendants; Hawaiian Civic Clubs; Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi; watershed residents and neighborhood / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 16 associations; farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, and aquaculture operators; veterinarians and animal-welfare organizations; wastewater contractors; schools; canoe clubs, fishers, and other ocean-user groups; and Hilo businesses and property managers. • Collaborative Partners: o Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations (WAI) - working on alternative technologies for cesspool conversions and a Responsible Management Entity (RME) model for decentralized wastewater management and system maintenance; • Funding Sources: o Hawaiʻi Community Foundation o Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority (HGIA) - Cesspool Conversion Revolving Loan Fund under Act 204 (2025) o Ulupono Initiative. Beth’s note – Ulupono has ceased operations; currently new entity in development. o Harold K.L. Castle Foundation - Nearshore Marine Resource Conservation program. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 17 2. Excess Sediment Principal Sources / drivers: Construction/grading; roads and drainage; eroding streambanks; disturbed forests; agriculture; vegetation removal; feral ungulates; invasive species; wildfire; harbor dredging; extreme rainfall/landslides. Summary management measures: Construction erosion controls/phased grading; stabilize soils/roads and improve drainage; riparian buffers and streambank restoration; reconnect stream corridors; forest/native vegetation restoration; agricultural soil-conservation BMPs; ungulate/invasive control; wildfire prevention/post-fire stabilization; managed dredging; slope stabilization Survey Q5: Additional Management Measures: • I would recommend focusing on prevention at the source, especially in steep, high rainfall areas and along roads, stream crossings, and disturbed slopes. Hilo needs measures that work during intense storms, not only ordinary rainfall and that keep soil on the land before it reaches streams, reefs, and Hilo Bay. • Add wet weather construction limits; required trained erosion-control coordinators; documented inspections and corrective action deadlines; rapid enforcement for illegal grading and recurring sediment discharges; post-construction stormwater controls; sediment hot spot mapping; unpaved road stabilization; culvert and drainage upgrades; landslide monitoring; native revegetation after disturbance; and post fire/post storm emergency stabilization. Require long term maintenance funding for sediment traps, drainage systems, swales, and other BMPs. o Require pre-construction site walks and rainy season construction planning for projects in erosion prone areas. Large clearing, grading, and exposed soil work should be limited during periods of heavy rainfall where feasible, with a clear wet weather shutdown and stabilization plan. o Require construction sites to have a named, trained erosion and sediment control coordinator, documented inspections, photo records, and corrective action deadlines. Hawaiʻi erosion-control guidance emphasizes sequencing BMPs, inspection, immediate stabilization of inactive disturbed areas, and protection of nearby drains. o Establish a County rapid inspection and enforcement team for high risk construction sites, illegal grading, unpermitted earthwork, roadside sediment discharges, and recurring drainage failures. Inspections should be prioritized before and after major storms. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 18 • Traditional Native Hawaiian approaches include ahupuaʻa based mauka to makai management; mālama ʻāina and mālama wai; protection and restoration of upland forests, stream corridors, wetlands, and estuaries; loʻi kalo and ʻauwai systems that slow and distribute water; loko iʻa and muliwai stewardship; kilo; laulima; and reciprocal replanting of watershed vegetation. These practices should be guided by cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, and ʻike holders from the affected ahupuaʻa. Ahupuaʻa management is an integrated resource system organized around the connected flow of water and resources from uplands to the sea. • Require post-construction stormwater controls, not only temporary construction BMPs. These can include infiltration areas, vegetated swales, rain gardens, sediment forebays, detention or retention basins, permeable pavement, roof runoff capture, and native vegetated buffers. • Map and maintain a public sediment hot-spot inventory identifying failing culverts, roadside ditches, unstable slopes, stream crossings, landslide prone areas, unpaved roads, drainage outfalls, and repeated turbidity problems. Use this inventory to prioritize capital improvement funds. • Develop a targeted unsealed road and private road stabilization program, including drainage design, rolling dips or water bars where appropriate, cross drains, armored outlets, graveling, vegetated shoulders, slope protection, and maintenance agreements. Roads and poorly maintained drainage systems can become major sediment delivery pathways during heavy rain. • Install and maintain sediment traps, check dams, vegetated treatment areas, and catch basin protections upstream of streams and storm drains, while ensuring they are regularly cleaned out. Sediment controls work only if maintenance is funded and scheduled. • Require or incentivize low-impact development standards for new development and redevelopment, especially near streams, coastal areas, and steep slopes. The goal should be to minimize clearing, preserve natural drainage patterns, reduce impervious cover, and retain runoff on site. • Strengthen hillside and stream corridor setbacks for clearing, grading, stockpiling, and vegetation removal. Require protective buffers around perennial and intermittent streams, springs, wetlands, drainage channels, and gulches. • Establish a native revegetation and slope recovery program after grading, landslides, road work, wildfire, or invasive species removal. Use locally appropriate native plants, erosion control blankets, mulch, coir logs, contour planting, and temporary stabilization until deeper rooted vegetation becomes established. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 19 • Add landslide early warning and post-storm assessment protocols for known unstable slopes. Following high-rainfall events, agencies should inspect priority road cuts, streambanks, culverts, and drainage outfalls before failures become larger sediment releases. • Fund a community scale rainwater catchment and roof-runoff management program where it reduces erosive concentrated flow from buildings, driveways, and developed parcels. • Improve the design and maintenance of culverts, stream crossings, and bridges so they pass storm flows without scouring banks, undersizing flow capacity, or forcing sediment-laden water onto roads and properties. • Use sediment-quality testing before dredging, disposal, or beneficial reuse of harbor or stream sediments, and require dredging windows, turbidity controls, monitoring, and community notification. Dredging should not simply move sediment impacts from one location to another. • Develop an emergency sediment response protocol after wildfires, landslides, and extreme storms, including rapid mulching, wattles, coir logs, check structures, inlet protection, slope stabilization, and monitoring of downstream water quality. • Create landowner incentives for conservation practices such as contour planting, cover crops, mulching, agroforestry, permanent ground cover, managed access roads, riparian fencing, and restoration of degraded streambanks. Hawaiʻi’s erosion control guidance is intended for farmers, ranchers, planners, developers, and others whose land use activities can contribute to erosion and sedimentation. • A practical principle for the plan and logical summary: erosion control prevents soil from moving; sediment control catches soil after it has already moved. The plan should prioritize prevention first, because temporary sediment controls alone are not enough during major Hilo rain events. • Create a watershed sediment hot spot map to prioritize failing culverts, unpaved roads, drainage outlets, unstable slopes, and recurring sediment discharges. Require wet-weather preparation, documented inspections, and prompt corrective action at high-risk construction sites. Establish a clear reporting and response process for illegal grading and sediment entering drains or streams. Fund long term maintenance of sediment traps, drainage systems, and erosion control installations. Provide technical and financial assistance to small landowners and farmers and measure sediment conditions before and after projects to determine whether improvements work. Hawaiʻi construction guidance supports inspection, stabilization, and maintenance as essential parts of erosion prevention. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 20 • wetland protection and restoration; constructed wetlands; decommission unused roads (not sure if this is an issue in Hilo); education and outreach; checkdams/wattles; rain gardens and green storm water infrastructure (with an effective maintenance program); immediate post-wildfire measures; erosion control logs; regenerative agriculture practices; biochar soil amendments; mulching/woodchipping where feasible Survey Q6: Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Traditional Native Hawaiian approaches include ahupuaʻa based mauka to makai management; mālama ʻāina and mālama wai; protection and restoration of upland forests, stream corridors, wetlands, and estuaries; loʻi kalo and ʻauwai systems that slow and distribute water; loko iʻa and muliwai stewardship; kilo; laulima; and reciprocal replanting of watershed vegetation. These practices should be guided by cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, and ʻike holders from the affected ahupuaʻa. Ahupuaʻa management is an integrated resource system organized around the connected flow of water and resources from uplands to the sea. o Traditional Native Hawaiian land stewardship was based on the ahupuaʻa system: managing the connected landscape from mauka to makai, including forests, streams, agricultural lands, wetlands, estuaries, and reefs. This approach recognized that erosion or misuse upstream directly affects downstream communities, fisheries, reefs, and food systems. Traditional Native Hawaiian practices relevant to excess sediment include protecting upland forests and stream corridors; maintaining continuous vegetation cover; careful cultivation and water management through loʻi kalo and ʻauwai; restoring wetlands, fishponds, and stream mouths; and applying mālama ʻāina, mālama wai, kuleana, laulima, and kilo to guide stewardship and early observation of change. o Ahupuaʻa management: Plan and act at the scale of the whole connected watershed, from forested uplands through cultivated lands and streams to Hilo Bay. Ahupuaʻa were organized around the natural flow of water and resources from mountain to sea. o Protection of mauka forests: Maintain healthy native forest and ground cover in upper watershed areas to reduce erosion, retain water, stabilize soils, and protect springs and streams. Native forest restoration and invasive species control are consistent with this principle. o Mālama ʻāina and mālama wai: Care for land and water as interdependent living systems. In practical terms, this supports minimizing unnecessary / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 21 clearing, protecting vegetation, maintaining stream buffers, restoring native plants, and preventing sediment from entering wai and kai. o Loʻi kalo: Traditional loʻi kalo systems can slow water, spread flow, retain sediment, and reduce the force of runoff when properly located and maintained. Water was directed through a sequence of pond fields rather than allowed to rush downslope unchecked; this supported food production while avoiding stagnant water. o ʻAuwai maintenance: Maintaining ʻauwai and water pathways can inform modern drainage stewardship by emphasizing regular clearing, flow management, prevention of blockages, and equitable responsibility among water users. o Loko iʻan and muliwai stewardship: Fishponds, estuarine wetlands, and stream mouth systems can absorb floodwater, retain sediment, and reduce the impact of runoff on coastal waters. Restored loʻi and loko iʻa may provide cultural, food system, habitat, and water quality benefits where locally appropriate. o Kilo: Support the practice of systematic observation by cultural practitioners, farmers, fishers, and residents watching rainfall, water color, stream turbidity, sediment plumes, stream mouth conditions, fish behavior, vegetation changes, and landslide indicators. Kilo can complement instrument monitoring and help identify problems quickly. o Laulima and kuleana: Use collective responsibility for stream, ʻauwai, and shoreline care. Community workdays, landowner coordination, youth involvement, and regular maintenance are consistent with the shared stewardship needed to prevent sediment problems. o Reciprocal replanting and forest care: Traditional resource management included replacing or protecting vegetation needed to keep watersheds intact. One commonly cited example is replanting young koa after harvesting mature koa, reflecting an understanding that forest cover protects the watershed and prevents erosion. • Apply ahupuaʻa-based management to protect the connection between upland land use, streams, estuaries, and coastal fisheries. Relevant approaches include caring for upland forests, maintaining vegetation and healthy soils, restoring appropriate loʻi kalo and ʻauwai systems, and supporting collective maintenance through laulima. Traditional agricultural landscapes can help slow water and retain sediment, but restoration must fit local conditions and be guided by practitioners. Incorporate kilo to observe stream color, sediment plumes, rainfall, and changes at / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 22 stream mouths. Local cultural practitioners, farmers, kūpuna, and lineal descendants should guide implementation. Key County Partners: DPW; PD/OSCER; Fire; Civil Defense Survey Q7: Additional County Partners: • Research and Development • Department of Environmental Management • Parks and Recreation • Department of Water Supply Key State Partners: DOH CWB/SWPB; DLNR CWRM, DAR, DOFAW, OCCL; DAB; HDOT; HI-EMA; SWCDs; DHHL Survey Q7: Additional State Partners: • UH Manoa Water Resources Research Center • UH Hilo PACRC • UH Hilo School of Geosciences • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Natural Resource Management • HDOT Harbors • DLNR Engineering Division • University of Hawaii- SeaGrant • CTAHR • UH Hilo • WRRC • Center for Mauna Kea Stewardship • UH Manoa • Department of Agriculture • UH Sea Grant • UH College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience (CTAHR) Cooperative Extension o UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo Chemistry Department / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 23 • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office, OVPRI Key Federal Partners: EPA; USDA-NRCS; USACE; USFWS; USFS; FHWA; FEMA; USGS Survey Q7: Additional Federal Partners: • USGS Pacific Island Water Science Center • NOAA (coastal and coral reef programs) • NWS Honolulu • Farm Service Agency Survey Q8: Key Community Partners: • Mauna Kea Watershed Alliance • Three Mountain Alliance • Pū ʻā Foundation - Punahoa Heritage Forest • The Kohala Center • Hawai’i Forest Institute • The Nature Conservancy • Hawai’i Wildlife Fund • Hawai’i Land Trust • Surfrider Foundation (Beth’s note – No Hawaiʻi Island Chapter) • Malama Learning Center (Beth’s note – this organization’s work is based in West Oʻahu) • Hawai’i Farm Bureau • General: lineal descendants, cultural practitioners, Hawaiian Civic Clubs, 4H and FFA, neighborhood associations; fishing, canoe, paddling, surfing and diving groups, and Hilo business associations. • Potential partners include local cultural practitioners and lineal descendants; kalo farmers and ʻauwai stewards; watershed landowners; farmers, ranchers, and forestry operators; relevant watershed partnerships; Hawaiʻi Forest Institute; The Kohala Center; Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi; contractors, grading companies, engineers, and landscape professionals; neighborhood associations; schools; and fishing, canoe, paddling, and surfing groups Give priority to organizations working within or directly serving the Hilo Bay watershed, with roles confirmed through outreach. • Hawaiʻi Association of Watershed Partnerships (HAWP) / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 24 3. Excess nutrients Principal Sources / drivers: Fertilizer; livestock/animal waste; cesspools and OSDS; WWTP leaks/overflows; aquaculture and aquaponics Summary management measures: Nutrient-management plans; precision/slow-release fertilization; livestock waste controls; riparian buffers; cesspool conversion and sewer improvements; wastewater treatment/reuse/monitoring; aquaculture effluent treatment and recirculation. Survey Q9 - Additional Management Measures: • I would recommend moving beyond general fertilizer and wastewater measures toward a clear “find it, prevent it, treat it, and verify results” approach. • The plan should identify whether nutrients are coming primarily from human wastewater, fertilizer, livestock, aquaculture, or groundwater discharge then match funding and accountability to the actual source. • Establish a watershed-wide nutrient source tracking and monitoring program using routine sampling of streams, storm drains, springs, groundwater, nearshore waters, and discharge points. Where feasible, use tracers or isotopic analysis to distinguish wastewater derived nutrients from fertilizer, livestock, and aquaculture sources. • Create a public nutrient and algae monitoring dashboard that tracks nitrogen, phosphorus, chlorophyll, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, bacteria, rainfall, sewage spills, and coastal conditions. This would allow the community to see whether investments are improving water quality over time. • Adopt fertilizer limits for high-risk areas such as stream corridors, drainageways, coastal zones, flood-prone land, steep slopes, highly permeable soils, and areas with shallow groundwater. Restrictions should address both commercial landscaping and residential use. • Require “right source, right amount, right time, right place” fertilizer practices: o Soil testing before fertilizing. o No fertilizer application immediately before heavy rain. o No application on saturated soil, pavement, drainage grates, or within stream and shoreline setbacks. • Calibration and licensing or training for commercial applicators. • Clear recordkeeping for larger properties, farms, golf courses, nurseries, and institutions. • Establish a County and community landscape conversion program that reduces dependence on high-nutrient turf and ornamental landscaping. Incentivize native / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 25 and canoe plant landscaping, mulching, rain gardens, compost use, drought- tolerant plantings, and low fertilizer landscape standards. • Install vegetated treatment systems where runoff is concentrated: constructed wetlands, bioswales, rain gardens, grassed swales, sediment forebays, infiltration areas, and restored floodplain or wetland areas. These systems should be properly engineered for Hilo rainfall and include a funded maintenance plan. • Expand use of denitrifying bioreactors, treatment wetlands, and nutrient removal media in strategic drainage areas where natural infiltration or vegetation alone will not adequately reduce nutrient loads. • Require nutrient-reduction plans for large impervious sites, including shopping centers, schools, government facilities, resorts, parking areas, plant nurseries, and large multi family or institutional properties. • Develop a comprehensive septic and decentralized wastewater maintenance program. This should include inspection schedules, pump-out and maintenance reminders, homeowner education, technical assistance, and financial support for repairs or upgrades. Cesspool conversion cannot be the only strategy because failing septic and other on site systems can also release nutrients. • Support community-scale or clustered decentralized wastewater systems for areas where individual lot-by-lot conversion is infeasible because of lot size, soils, groundwater, cost, or lack of nearby sewer service. This avoids a one-size-fits-all response while still reducing nutrient pollution. • Require wastewater facilities and pump stations to maintain reliable backup power, overflow alarms, emergency storage, preventive maintenance, and public spill reporting. Nutrient reductions are lost when a storm or power outage causes a sewage release. • Encourage beneficial reuse of highly treated recycled water for appropriate irrigation, with clear water-quality standards, public reporting, and safeguards against runoff to streams or the coast. • Establish nutrient standards and reporting requirements for aquaculture and aquaponics, including feed-management plans, solids removal, water-quality monitoring, recirculating systems where appropriate, effluent treatment, emergency containment, and regular reporting of discharges. Aquaculture guidance specifically emphasizes minimizing feed inputs because uneaten feed and fines can compound water-quality problems.[ctsa] • Create incentives for farms to use nutrient-recycling practices: covered manure storage, composting, manure testing, compost application plans, cover crops, / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 26 vegetated buffers, rotational grazing, livestock exclusion from waterways, and setbacks from wells, springs, drains, and streams. • Support composting systems that are properly designed and managed. Poorly managed compost piles can become nutrient sources during heavy rain; covered storage, runoff controls, and proper siting are essential. • Improve public education around household nutrient sources, including lawn products, pet waste, aquarium water, improper disposal of fertilizers, and washing soil, grass clippings, or yard waste into drains. • Develop a bay and reef response protocol for recurring nutrient-driven algae blooms or low-oxygen conditions, combining rapid sampling, source investigation, public notice, and corrective action. • Establish nutrient source tracking to distinguish wastewater, fertilizer, livestock, aquaculture, and groundwater sources. Require soil testing and clear application guidance for larger fertilizer users, including avoiding application before heavy rain or on saturated ground. Establish appropriate fertilizer setbacks from streams, springs, drains, and shorelines. Promote low-fertilizer landscaping and properly managed composting. Provide septic maintenance assistance and evaluate shared neighborhood wastewater systems where individual conversions are impractical. Set measurable nitrogen and phosphorus reduction targets, monitor wet and dry weather conditions, and report progress publicly. UH Hilo research demonstrates the value of identifying human derived nutrient sources rather than assuming all pollution comes from the same activity. • wetland protection and restoration; regenerative agriculture practices; regular OSDS maintenance and inspection; outreach and education Survey Q10 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Use ahupuaʻa-based management, mālama ʻāina, mālama wai, kuleana, and laulima to connect land stewardship with downstream water quality. Practitioner- led restoration of loʻi kalo, ʻauwai, wetlands, and loko iʻa can inform water management, food production, and nutrient cycling. Incorporate kilo by farmers, fishers, kūpuna, and cultural practitioners to observe changes in algae, water clarity, flow, and aquatic life. Restoration should include careful nutrient budgeting and water quality monitoring: traditional agricultural restoration does not automatically remove excess nutrients, and excessive fertilizer including organic fertilizer can increase nutrient export. Local practitioners and lineal descendants should guide appropriate applications. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 27 Key County Partners: DEM Wastewater; DWS; PD/OSCER Survey Q11 - Additional County Partners: No response. Key State Partners: DOH WWB/CWB/SDWB/SWPB; DAB; DLNR; SWCDs; DAR/OCCL/DOFAW; OHA; HI-EM; DHHL; UHH PACRC Survey Q11 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi- Sea Grant • CTAHR - UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Hilo – College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resource Management • WRRC • UH Mānoa Water Resources Research Center • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office, OVPRI Key Federal Partners: EPA; USDA-NRCS; USDA-RD; USFWS; FEMA; NOAA Fisheries Survey Q11 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q12 - Key Community Partners: • Keaukaha Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Leleiwi Community Association; • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association • Kaumana Hawaiian Homes Community Association • Pi’ihonua Hawaiian Homestead Community Association • Kuʻu Home Stewardship • Hawaiʻi Water Environment Association / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 28 • Hawaiʻi Rural Water Association; • Potential partners include farmers, ranchers, livestock owners, nurseries, landscapers, golf course managers, aquaculture and aquaponics operators, soil testing laboratories, compost producers, and wastewater service providers. Community partners could include local kalo farmers and cultural practitioners; relevant Hawaiʻi Farm Bureau county organizations; The Kohala Center; Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi; Surfrider’s Hilo water-quality volunteers; neighborhood associations; schools; ocean-user groups; hotels; and large property managers. Include both those who generate nutrient inputs and those affected downstream, with specific responsibilities agreed upon through outreach. • golf courses? see also collaborative partners for Pathogens & fecal contamination / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 29 4. Trash and Solid Waste Principal Sources / drivers: Litter; illegal dumping; unsecured waste; street/parking runoff; storm drains; shoreline recreation Summary management measures: Source reduction and solid-waste controls; trash capture; street sweeping; storm-drain protection; illegal-dumping prevention/enforcement; cleanup and marine-debris programs; public education and stewardship Survey Q13 - Additional Management Measures: • A lot of this is already county policy in the “Hawaii County Zero Waste Implementation Plan”. This plan should be mentioned here. • Map recurring trash and dumping hot spots and use the results to improve collection routes, bin placement, and response times. Install covered, animal resistant public bins with dependable servicing. Establish secure dumpster and covered-load requirements for businesses, construction sites, events, and haulers. Make bulky item, tire, appliance, electronic-waste, and household hazardous waste disposal easier to access. Add event waste management plans, repair and reuse programs, refill stations, and construction material salvage. Create a reporting system with response tracking and prepare a disaster debris plan. Record the types and locations of collected trash so cleanup findings lead to prevention. Align this work with Hawaiʻi’s Marine Debris Action Plan. Survey Q14 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Draw on ahupuaʻa based stewardship, mālama ʻāina, mālama kai, kuleana, and laulima to emphasize responsibility for resources from uplands to the sea. Traditional resource stewardship offers principles for careful use of materials, maintaining useful items, and collective care of shared places. Modern applications could include repair, reuse, safely managed composting, and practitioner led community stewardship. These are only contemporary adaptations of cultural principles, not claims that traditional practices can safely manage plastics or hazardous waste. Local cultural practitioners, kūpuna, and lineal descendants should guide culturally grounded education and activities, but they may not be able to solve for the more complex materials and debris like plastic etc... Key County Partners: DEM; DPW; P&R; Environmental Management Commission (DEM); Banyan Drive Hawaiʻi Redevelopment Agency (PD) / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 30 Survey Q15 - Additional County Partners: No response. Key State Partners: DOH Solid & Hazardous Waste Branch; DOH CWB; DHHL Survey Q15 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office, OVPRI • DOH SWPB Key Federal Partners: EPA; NOAA Survey Q15 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q16 - Key Community Partners: • Zero Waste Hawaiʻi Island • Surfrider • Center for Biological Diversity. Beth’s note – national organization; not sure if it has a local presence. • Beyond Plastics. Beth’s note – Zero Waste Hawaii is an affiliate. • Clean Rewards. • Perpetual Reuse. Beth’s note – Perpetual Reuse is working with County of Hawaiʻi Department of Environmental Management and with UH Hilo on a food service reuse pilot program. • Potential partners include Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund, Surfrider’s Hilo volunteers, local cultural practitioners and Hawaiian Civic Clubs, Kamehameha Schools Hawaiʻi, Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce, neighborhood associations, schools, youth groups, canoe clubs, fishers, and other ocean user groups. Include waste haulers, recyclers, redemption centers, scrap metal businesses, compost operators, thrift stores, repair shops, contractors, / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 31 property managers, restaurants, hotels, markets, and event organizers. Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund has documented experience coordinating community based marine debris removal. Prioritize local groups with the capacity to maintain projects beyond a single cleanup. • Sustainable Coastlines Hawaiʻi / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 32 5. Oil, petroleum, metals and urban chemicals Principal Sources / drivers: Roads and vehicles; parking; commercial/industrial activities; fueling; harbor/vessel operations; legacy industrial/agricultural/landfill sites Summary management measures: Source control; spill prevention/response; stormwater treatment and vegetated swales; industrial BMPs; fueling/storage controls; vessel maintenance, bilge and waste BMPs; legacy-site inventory, remediation and monitoring Survey Q17 - Additional Management Measures: • Ensure that NPDES Permit Requirements are being met, including TMDL Wasteload Allocation (WLA) I'd also work on the monitoring side, and TMDL development side for any point sources. • Maybe add “Modernization of facilities”? • Offer convenient used oil, battery, paint, and chemical collection; establish vehicle leak repair assistance and abandoned vehicle removal; require vehicle wash water capture and approved disposal; and test runoff at high-risk outfalls after rainfall. Provide small businesses with pollution-prevention training and incentives for safer products. Vehicle maintenance and washing are important opportunities to prevent contaminated runoff. • effective maintenance of nature-based solutions or green stormwater infrastructure; retrofit existing infrastructure and stormwater systems (are there low-cost but effective options?) Survey Q18 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: No response Key County Partners: DPW; DEM; Fire; Civil Defense; Property Management; PD/OSCER Survey Q19 - Additional County Partners: No response Key State Partners: DOH CWB, HEER, Solid & Hazardous Waste Branch; DLNR/DOBOR; HDOT Harbors; SHPD as applicable; DHHL Survey Q19 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi • DOH CWB / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 33 • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office Key Federal Partners: EPA; USCG; DOE/legacy programs; federal historic-preservation partners Survey Q19 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q20 - Key Community Partners: • Hawai’i Water Environment Association • Invite auto repair shops, fleet operators, gas stations, car washes, marinas, boat owners, industrial property owners, licensed hazardous-waste contractors, and recyclers. Include Hilo business associations, neighborhood groups, Surfrider’s Hilo volunteers, schools, and local cultural practitioners. Prioritize businesses handling these materials and residents near discharge hot spots. Surfrider’s Hilo program offers an established community water quality connection. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 34 6. Pesticides and herbicides Principal Sources / drivers: Agriculture; landscaping; roadside vegetation management; forestry Summary management measures: Integrated pest management; reduced/targeted chemical use; timing and application-rate controls; vegetated buffers; native/urban forestry; education and technical assistance Survey Q21 - Additional Management Measures: • Provide safe pesticide collection and disposal; require secure storage, spill containment, and equipment calibration; establish application records and public notification for County spraying; and monitor priority streams after storms. Fund practical nonchemical alternatives and applicator training. CTAHR guidance supports calibration and proper storage and disposal to reduce pollution. • chemical handling, storage, and disposal controls; no-spray zones around sensitive ecosystems/sites Survey Q22 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Support practitioner-led traditional agroforestry, mixed planting, ground cover, and collective hand-weeding to reduce reliance on herbicides. Traditional Hawaiian layered plantings helped shade soil and suppress weeds. Apply mālama ʻāina and kilo through local cultural guidance; these are not substitutes for hazardous chemical cleanup. Key County Partners: PD; DPW Highways Division Survey Q23 - Additional County Partners: No response. Key State Partners: SWCDs; DAB Pesticides Branch; DLNR DOFAW; HDOT; DHHL Survey Q23 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi- SeaGrant • CTAHR • UH Hilo • Center for Mauna Kea Stewardship • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 35 • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office Key Federal Partners: USDA-NRCS; USFS; FHWA Survey Q23 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q24 - Key Community Partners: • Landscape Industry Council of Hawaiʻi • Potential partners include local farmers, ranchers, nurseries, landscapers, licensed applicators, agricultural suppliers, watershed landowners, schools, neighborhood associations, cultural practitioners, and traditional farming organizations. Invite them to host demonstration sites, report concerns, and share practical alternatives. Community developed resources such as Kuleana Hawaiʻi’s pest and weed guidance offer useful outreach models. These are potential partners, not confirmed commitments. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 36 7. Emerging contaminants Principal Sources / drivers: Roads/vehicles; consumer products; wastewater; plastics; firefighting chemicals; other poorly characterized sources Summary management measures: Initial emphasis on source identification and monitoring; characterize PFAS, microplastics and other contaminants; identify hotspots/pathways; source reduction/substitution where feasible; incorporate controls into wastewater, stormwater, waste and emergency- response programs as science develops Survey Q25 - Additional management measures: • cesspool elimination, sewer collection system rehab, wastewater treatment plant renovation/expansion • Expand medication take back and chemical collection; inventory and safely manage older firefighting foams; and assess PFAS in landfill leachate and sewage sludge before reuse or disposal. Establish clear public reporting and response thresholds. Require treatment projects to address contaminated filters and residuals not simply transfer pollution elsewhere. • for sources: specifically tire wear particles for roads/vehicles (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468584425000753) • for management measures: test pilot remediation or treatment technologies such as ecoSPEARS or other types of technologies with a monitoring program to evaluate effectiveness. Survey Q26 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Apply mālama ʻāina, mālama wai, and ahupuaʻa-based stewardship to prevent pollution across connected land and waters. Practitioner led kilo can complement laboratory monitoring but cannot detect invisible contaminants. These are modern applications of traditional principles; no traditional practice should be represented as proven to remove PFAS or microplastics Key County Partners: DEM; DPW; Fire; DWS; PD Survey Q27 - Additional County Partners: No response. Key State Partners: DOH CWB/WWB/HEER/Solid & Hazardous Waste/SDWB, as applicable; DHHL / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 37 Survey Q27 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi - SeaGrant • CTAHR (for possible testing of soil remediation technologies)? • UH Hilo • WRRC • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science • Department UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office Key Federal Partners: EPA; USGS; NOAA, as applicable Survey Q27 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q28 - Key Community Partners: • Environment One Corporation - https://eone.com/ • Invite pharmacies, healthcare providers, laboratories, waste haulers, recyclers, laundries, auto businesses, retailers, neighborhood groups, cultural practitioners, and Surfrider’s Hilo volunteers. Potential roles include take-back programs, safer purchasing, source identification, and public outreach. Community water quality groups can assist with engagement, while specialized laboratories handle emerging contaminant testing. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 38 8. Altered Hydrology (and thermal conditions) Principal Sources / drivers: Impervious surfaces; channelization; vegetation removal; altered streamflow and barriers. Summary management measures: Green infrastructure/LID and infiltration; protect natural drainage; riparian/native revegetation; restore channel/floodplain function; remove/modify unnecessary channelization and barriers; protect instream flows/connectivity. Survey Q29 - Additional Management Measures: • Require watershed-scale drainage assessments before development to avoid transferring flood risk downstream. • Add rainwater harvesting, continuous streamflow and temperature monitoring, climate-adjusted culvert design, and funded inspections before and after major storms. Kaʻū’s damage during Hurricane Lala demonstrates the urgency: severe rainfall caused flash flooding, while erosion carried boulders and trees through stream channels and damaged roads. • Hilo should evaluate drainage capacity and debris pathways before similar events not only afterward. This example illustrates flood risk, not proof that altered hydrology caused Lala’s damage. • maintenance programs for green infrastructure/LID Survey Q30 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Apply ahupuaʻa-based stewardship, protection of upland forests, and practitioner- guided maintenance of ʻauwai and loʻi systems. Incorporate kilo to observe rainfall, streamflow, seasonal changes, and aquatic life. Adaptations should maintain downstream flows and avoid warming or diverting water in ways that harm stream ecosystems. Local practitioners and lineal descendants should guide their use. Key County Partners: PD/OSCER; DPW; Survey Q31 - Additional County Partners: No response. Key State Partners: DLNR CWRM, DAR, DOFAW; DOH SWPB; SWCDs; Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority; DHHL Survey Q31 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi – SeaGrant / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 39 • CTAHR • UH Hilo • WRRC • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office Key Federal Partners: EPA; USACE; USFWS; USDA-NRCS Survey Q31 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q32 - Key Community Partners: • Invite streamside residents, farmers, kalo growers, ʻauwai stewards, cultural practitioners, watershed partnerships, major landowners, neighborhood associations, engineers, developers, schools, and canoe and fishing groups. Potential roles include rainfall and stream observations, rainwater-harvesting demonstrations, maintenance agreements, and reporting blocked crossings or changing channels. Prioritize upstream downstream collaboration consistent with ahupuaʻa stewardship. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 40 9. Volcanic and geothermal water-quality effects Principal Sources / drivers: Vog and acid deposition; volcanic geology-groundwater interactions; potentially other volcanic/geothermal pathways Summary management measures: Drinking-water/catchment guidance; vog monitoring/advisories; groundwater and surface- water monitoring; characterize volcanic/geologic influences to distinguish natural background from anthropogenic pollution. Survey Q33 - Additional Management Measures: • Fund household water testing, catchment inspections, and emergency drinking water access after volcanic events. Establish independent baseline testing near potential geothermal pathways, public results, and clear investigation triggers. Include backup water routes when lava cuts roads or utilities. Acidic rain can leach metals from roofing and plumbing, making household testing important. Puna’s 2018 eruption destroyed over 700 homes and displaced more than 2,500 residents underscoring the need for preparedness, transparent information, and community trust. This disaster does not itself establish geothermal-related water contamination. Survey Q34 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Geothermal water quality effects? The only geothermal water in the watershed is at high elevation on Mauna Loa, at elevations where evaporation exceeds rainfall so very little groundwater recharge occurs. Better to remove this so people can focus on the real problems. • Invite local kūpuna, cultural practitioners, and lineal descendants to guide mālama wai, protection of springs, and place-based knowledge of volcanic landscapes. Practitioner led kilo can document environmental changes alongside scientific monitoring. Respect cultural relationships with Pele; do not present traditional practices as methods for removing dissolved chemicals or making contaminated water safe. Key County Partners: DWS; Civil Defense Survey Q35 - Additional County Partners: No response. Key State Partners: / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 41 DOH CWB/Clean Air Branch; DHHL Survey Q35 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi – SeaGrant • CTAHR Rainwater Catchment Systems Program • WRRC • UH Mānoa Vog Measurement and Prediction project- UH Mānoa SOEST • Center for the Study of Active Volcanoes • Hawaiʻi Institute of Geophysics and Planetology – UH Mānoa SOEST • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department Key Federal Partners: USGS Hawaiian Volcano Observatory; other federal science partners as needed Survey Q35 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q36 - Key Community Partners: • Invite eruption-affected Puna residents, catchment-dependent households, cultural practitioners, neighborhood and recovery organizations, certified water testing laboratories, catchment-service providers, healthcare organizations, and geothermal operators where relevant. Include both concerned residents and industry representatives, with independent testing and public reporting. Puna’s experience of destroyed water tanks, disrupted utilities, and lost access makes affected residents essential planning partners. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 42 B. Coastal Resilience and Natural Systems 10. Tsunami inundation and extreme wave events Principal Sources / drivers: Local/distant earthquakes; submarine landslides; tsunami propagation/amplification within Hilo Bay; high-velocity inundation, debris and scour; seasonal high waves/extreme storm waves Summary management measures: Warning and evacuation systems/signage; evacuation-route/access planning; public education; hazard-based critical-facility siting; preserve flood-compatible open space; relocate/reduce exposure where warranted; post-disaster recovery/redevelopment planning; restore coastal/natural buffers where effective. Survey Q37 - Additional Management Measures: • I would favor separating tsunamis and extreme wave events. A 15 ft surf wave has very different impacts on the coastline in comparison to a 15 ft tsunami wave. The management measures are very different. • We also need safe viewing points and ocean access for large wave events. We were finally able to run the Honoli'i Pro-Am Surf competition this year because of seasonal high waves. • Conduct timed evacuation drills for downtown Hilo, Waiākea, Banyan Drive, and harbor-area users, including nighttime and power-outage scenarios. Identify assistance for kūpuna, people with disabilities, and residents without vehicles. Evaluate engineer-certified vertical evacuation options where reaching safe ground is difficult. Secure tanks and hazardous materials against flotation and inspect evacuation bridges and routes for earthquake damage. Hilo’s 1960 losses show that warnings must translate into immediate action. Survey Q38 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Support practitioner led sharing of place names, moʻolelo, and knowledge of coastal hazards, alongside kilo and intergenerational education. Hawaiian terms such as kai mimiki describe a receding sea, while kai eʻe describes a rising or climbing sea. Teach these alongside official safety guidance: do not approach unusual ocean behavior, and do not wait for a siren after strong or prolonged shaking. Cultural knowledge and coastal vegetation cannot guarantee protection from tsunami inundation. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 43 Key County Partners: Civil Defense; PD; DPW; P&R; Police/Fire; OSCER/R&D Survey Q39 - Additional County Partners: • DWS Key State Partners: HI-EMA; DLNR; HDOT; OPSD/CZM; DHHL Survey Q39 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaii – SeaGrant • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • UH Hilo Emergency Management Staff • WRRC • DOE (for water system continuity, school evacuation) • DOH (for healthcare preparedness) • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Ocean and Resources Engineering • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Department of Environmental and Construction Engineering • University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Center for Oral History: o Tsunamis Remembered: Oral Histories of Survivors and Observers in Hawai‘i https://hdl.handle.net/10125/29800 Key Federal Partners: FEMA; NOAA/NWS; USGS; USACE where infrastructure is involved / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 44 Survey Q39 - Additional Federal Partners: Survey Q40 - Key Community Partners: • Pacific Tsunami Museum; • Keaukaha Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Leleiwi Community Association • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association • Prioritize the Pacific Tsunami Museum, tsunami survivors and descendants, local cultural practitioners, Hilo Downtown Improvement Association, Banyan Drive hotels, harbor businesses, canoe clubs, schools, neighborhood associations, disability advocates, senior service providers, and the American Red Cross. Invite them to develop evacuation assistance, visitor instructions, drills, and family reunification plans. The Hilo-based museum’s mission directly connects tsunami education with preserving the community’s history...Dr. Walter Dudley / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 45 11. Coastal, compound and riverine flooding Principal Sources / drivers: Extreme rainfall/high stream flows; tributary flows; urban runoff/ponding; high tides; storm surge; coastal storms; sea-level rise; interaction of stream, drainage, groundwater and coastal water levels Summary management measures: Watershed-scale drainage improvements; reconnect streams/floodplains; restore wetlands/riparian buffers; native revegetation; green infrastructure; protect/restore natural drainage; dune, beach and coastal-wetland restoration; flood-compatible land use; setbacks; living shorelines; slope stabilization Survey Q41 - Additional Management Measures: • Rehabilitate and/or install resilient & sustainable sewer collection systems. • Add "supporting climate mitigation policies" as a way to slow sea-level rise. • Add "clearing vegetation from river channels". "Remove sediment from retention ponds on streams." • Model rainfall, river flows, tides, groundwater, and storm surge together. Add flood depth sensors, road closure alerts, funded culvert inspections, protection of utilities, and voluntary elevation or relocation assistance for repeatedly flooded properties. • Require projects to demonstrate they will not increase downstream flooding. Hilo’s November 2000 flood illustrates why maintenance and flood storage capacity matter: FEMA reports that the Alenaio flood control project, including its soccer field storage area, helped avoid more than $20 million in damage. Survey Q42 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Apply ahupuaʻa-based stewardship, practitioner-guided loʻi and ʻauwai maintenance, and kilo of rainfall, streams, tides, and coastal conditions. Include local kūpuna and lineal descendants in identifying historic water pathways and appropriate restoration. Collective ʻauwai maintenance offers a model for shared responsibility, but traditional systems also require protection from extreme floods Key County Partners: DPW; PD; DEM; Civil Defense; P&R; OSCER Survey Q43 - Additional County Partners: • DWS • Fire/EMS • Police / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 46 • OHCD Key State Partners: DLNR Engineering/CWRM/OCCL/D OFAW; OPSD/CZM; HI-EMA; HDOT; DOH; DHHL Survey Q43 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi- SeaGrant • CTAHR • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Faculty for flood mapping, monitoring, and community planning. • WRRC • CIMAR • DOE • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science • Department UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office Key Federal Partners: FEMA; USACE; NOAA; USGS; EPA; USDA-NRCS Survey Q43 - Additional Federal Partners: Survey Q44 - Key Community Partners: • Keaukaha Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Leleiwi Community Association • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 47 • Kaumana Hawaiian Homes Community Association • Pi’ihonua Hawaiian Homestead Community Association • Invite residents and businesses along Alenaio, Waiākea, and Wailuku waterways; downtown and bayfront businesses; Banyan Drive hotels; streamside landowners; cultural practitioners; farmers; neighborhood associations; disability and kūpuna organizations; schools; engineers; insurers; and the American Red Cross. Potential roles include documenting flood history, assisting evacuation, reporting blocked drainage, and developing property level preparedness plans. Hilo’s 2000 floods demonstrate the importance of protecting homes, businesses, bridges, and access routes together. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 48 12. Sea-level rise, chronic inundation and rising groundwater Principal Sources / drivers: Global climate change/rising mean sea level; elevated coastal water levels; rising groundwater table and groundwater emergence; groundwater-volcanic geology interaction; increasingly frequent high-tide flooding Summary management measures: Phased adaptation strategies; vulnerability mapping/monitoring; avoid or limit new exposure; accommodate/elevate/floodproof where appropriate; relocate/realign vulnerable development and infrastructure; protect adaptation space; groundwater monitoring; integrate rising groundwater into wastewater, drainage, water-supply and land- use planning Survey Q45 - Additional Management Measures: • Rehabilitate and/or install resilient & sustainable sewer collection systems. • Kinda confusing because of overlap with B11. Add "supporting climate mitigation policies" as a way to slow sea-level rise. • Add "Evaluate opportunities for groundwater-dependent ecosystem restoration with emergence of new anchialine pools • "I'm not a fan of "Relocating development"- that sounds very eminent domain. Maybe an alternative is: "Create financial incentives to convert at-risk properties to conservation land." • Need to ensure native Hawaiian voices are heard in these discussions, so add “Culturally-based phased adaptation strategies” • Set measurable adaptation triggers, such as repeated road flooding, groundwater levels, or sewer failures, that initiate funded action. Inventory buried utilities and assess saltwater corrosion before failures occur. Establish assistance for affected renters, homeowners, and small businesses. For Hilo’s bayfront, Waiākea, and Banyan Drive, assess groundwater impacts not just shoreline flooding. UH research shows rising, saltier groundwater can damage pipes and foundations before surface flooding becomes visible; seawalls alone cannot solve this problem. • Prioritize Hilo specific groundwater modeling rather than directly transferring Honolulu findings; UH research demonstrates why groundwater must be included in coastal adaptation assessments. Survey Q46 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Apply ahupuaʻa-based stewardship and practitioner led kilo to document changing tides, springs, wetlands, and shoreline conditions. Invite kūpuna and lineal descendants to identify historic water pathways and culturally important places / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 49 needing protection. Use this knowledge to guide adaptation space and continued cultural access not as a claim that traditional practices can stop sea level rise. Ahupuaʻa stewardship recognizes connected land, freshwater, and coastal systems. Key County Partners: PD; DPW; DEM; DWS; P&R; OSCER/R&D Survey Q47 - Additional County Partners: • OHCD • Civil Defense • R&D Key State Partners: OPSD/CZM; DLNR OCCL/CWRM; Climate Commission; DOH SDWB/WWB; HDOT; DHHL Survey Q47 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi – SeaGrant • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • WRRC • UH Mānoa Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (CIMAR) • Hawaiʻi Public Housing Authority • DLNR SHPD for threatened cultural resources • UH Mānoa Sea Level Center • UH Mānoa Climate Resilience Collaborative Key Federal Partners: NOAA; FEMA; USACE; USGS; EPA / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 50 Survey Q47 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q48 - Key Community Partners: • Keaukaha Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Leleiwi Community Association • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 51 13. Coastal erosion and shoreline change Principal Sources / drivers: Sea-level rise; storms/waves; historic shoreline modification; shoreline protection structures; development; altered sediment movement; inundation/disaster damage Summary management measures: Setbacks/avoidance; beach nourishment/sediment augmentation; living shorelines; dune/beach restoration; protect sediment processes; evaluate hard-to-soft protection alternatives; selective realignment/relocation; accommodation/elevation; redesign/remove obsolete structures; evaluate offshore/reef-based approaches where appropriate Survey Q49 - Additional Management Measures: • Add "management for healthy coral reefs", since reef-derived carbonate sediments are an important part of beach sands. • Establish repeat shoreline surveys and community photo stations at Bayfront, Moku Ola, and Reeds Bay. Require projects to assess cumulative effects on neighboring shores, public access, and sediment movement. Set maintenance responsibilities and action thresholds before erosion threatens facilities. Hilo needs site specific solutions: its shoreline includes rocky areas, seawalls, and modified beaches not one continuous sandy coast. • UH Hilo shoreline change research has already supported Hawaiʻi County coastal planning Survey Q50 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Use practitioner led kilo, moʻolelo, and place name knowledge to document shoreline changes and protect cultural access. Apply mālama ʻāina and mālama kai through community stewardship and appropriate native coastal planting. Describe planting as a modern application of cultural stewardship not a guaranteed erosion barrier. Native Hawaiian led resilience programs connect cultural knowledge with wetland and dune restoration where suitable. Key County Partners: PD; DPW; P&R; R&D/OSCER Survey Q51 - Additional County Partners: • Civil Defense • DWS Key State Partners: / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 52 DLNR OCCL/Land Division; OPSD/CZM; HDOT Harbors; DHHL Survey Q51 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaii – SeaGrant • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • UH Hilo Geography and Marine Science researchers • WRRC • CIMAR • University of Hawaiʻi Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS) • UH Mānoa Climate Resilience Collaborative • UH Mānoa Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Research (CIMAR) • DLNR SHPD • DLNR DAR Key Federal Partners: USACE; NOAA NMFS; USGS; EPA where water-quality effects occur Survey Q51 - Additional Federal Partners: • FEMA • US Fish and Wildlife Service, Department of the Interior Survey Q52 - Key Community Partners: • Keaukaha Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Leleiwi Community Association • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 53 • Invite shoreline residents, lineal descendants, cultural practitioners, fishers, canoe clubs, Banyan Drive hotels, downtown businesses, neighborhood associations, schools, coastal engineers, and conservation organizations. Hawaiʻi Wildlife Fund offers coastal restoration experience elsewhere on Hawaiʻi Island; local roles would need confirmation. Partners could document changes, maintain restoration sites, and identify threatened access and cultural resources. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 54 14. Loss or degradation of coastal wetlands, estuarine/riparian habitat and natural shoreline buffering Principal Sources / drivers: Development/habitat conversion; altered hydrology/connectivity; invasive species; pollution; sea-level rise; shoreline structures; loss of accommodation space; sediment disruption Summary management measures: Restore wetlands, estuarine and riparian habitat; invasive removal; reconnect riparian areas/floodplains; living shorelines; vegetated buffers; sediment enhancement where appropriate; protect shoreline accommodation space; remove/redesign obsolete hard structures; plan for habitat migration Survey Q53 - Additional Management Measures: • Add "incorporate HBWCR Plan priorities into planning and implementation frameworks (e.g. County General Plan, County codes, rules….). " • Fund ongoing maintenance and local stewardship positions, not just initial restoration. Set measurable goals for native vegetation, water circulation, and wildlife recovery. Add predator control, nesting area protection, and conservation agreements with willing landowners. Build on existing work at Lokowaka, where community restoration already supports Hilo’s wetland habitat. Survey Q54 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • The management measures seem to be in conflict with the restoration of loko i’a (native Hawaiian fishponds). Instead, we need to specifically support loko i'a as an important way of managing wetlands. • Include a separate Primary Problem of “Vulnerability of Cultural Resources” that can include wahi pana, loko i’a. Management actions could include native Hawaiian signage, culture-based management,…. • Support practitioner led loko iʻa restoration, mālama wai, kilo, and laulima. Restore appropriate water connections and maintain fishpond features under the guidance of cultural practitioners and lineal descendants. Hilo’s Lokowaka complex provides a local example of restoring traditional fishponds while reconnecting people with native habitats and cultural stewardship. Key County Partners: PD; P&R; DPW; R&D/OSCER Survey Q55 - Additional County Partners / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 55 • DWS • DEM Key State Partners: DLNR DAR/DOFAW/OCCL/SP; OPSD/CZM; DOH; DHHL Survey Q55 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi – SeaGrant • UH Hilo Marine Science • UH Hilo PACRC • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • WRRC • DLNR Commission on Water Resource Management • DLNR Land Division • DLNR SHPD Key Federal Partners: NOAA; USFWS; USACE; EPA; USDA-NRCS; FEMA where hazard-reduction benefits overlap Survey Q55 - Additional Federal Partners: No response. Survey Q56 - Key Community Partners: • East Hawaiʻi Fisheries Working Group • ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative • Keaukaha Community Association • Keaukaha Pana'ewa Farmers Association • Leleiwi Community Association / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 56 • Keaukaha Action Network • MAHA King’s Landing Community Association • Big Island Invasive Species Committee • Prioritize ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative, Lokowaka landowners, Keaukaha residents, cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, fishpond stewards, schools, canoe clubs, and nearby businesses. Invite Rotary Club of Hilo and other service groups to support recurring workdays, native plant growing, and monitoring. ʻĀina Hoʻōla already coordinates local restoration, and Rotary has participated in pond stewardship. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 57 15. Hilo breakwater, harbor-system resilience and altered coastal processes Principal Sources / drivers: Existing breakwater/navigation infrastructure; altered wave, circulation and sediment processes; storms and sea-level rise; aging harbor infrastructure; dredging/navigation requirements Summary management measures: Assess breakwater/harbor performance under future conditions; evaluate retrofit/redesign/modification; resilient harbor infrastructure; coordinate dredging/sediment management with shoreline/ecosystem objectives; spill/operational resilience; maintain navigation/emergency functions while addressing altered coastal processes. Survey Q57 - Additional Management Measures: • Need to be careful about statements like “coordinate dredging/sediment management with shoreline/ecosystem objectives”. Earlier in this document, you said dredging was a source of excess sediment, here you say it's a solution. But it's not a solution to shorelines. When the US Army Corp does dredging of the main ship canal, the sediment is too fine grained for shoreline applications (See the US Army Corp EAs for Hilo Bay dredging). Also, Check with Army Corp. They have already assessed the breakwater for future conditions and have a plan for raising the wall to accommodate increased waves and SLR. • Establish a public inspection and maintenance schedule, clear agency responsibilities, and emergency plans for interrupted cargo deliveries. Require independent modeling of circulation, sediment, water quality, waves, and tsunami effects before approving breakwater changes. Do not assume an opening would improve conditions without creating other risks. Survey Q58 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Include fishers, cultural practitioners, and lineal descendants in documenting currents, sediment movement, fisheries, and historic shoreline conditions through kilo and oral histories. Apply mālama kai and ahupuaʻa stewardship to guide decisions. These principles should inform engineering, not be presented as structural solutions for the breakwater. Key County Partners: Civil Defense; PD; DPW/DEM where County systems interface Survey Q59 - Additional County Partners: • R&D / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 58 • DWS • Fire Key State Partners: HDOT Harbors; DLNR DAR/DOBOR; DOH; OPSD/CZM; DHHL Survey Q59 - Additional State Partners: • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Marine Science Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • HIEMA • DLNR SHPD • University of Hawaiʻi – Sea Grant • UH Mānoa Ocean and Resources Engineering • Respondent note: HDOT maintains depths at berthing and mooring areas. Key Federal Partners: USACE; USCG; NOAA; EPA Survey Q59 - Additional Federal Partners: • Respondent note: USACE maintains federal navigation features, including the breakwater and basin Survey Q60 - Key Community Partners: • East Hawaiʻi Fisheries Working Group • Invite harbor tenants, shipping companies, tug operators, stevedores, truckers, commercial fishers, canoe clubs, Keaukaha residents, cultural practitioners, shoreline businesses, and the Hawaiʻi Island Chamber of Commerce. Include the Pacific Tsunami Museum for historical education. Their input should address cargo continuity, safe access, fisheries, and neighborhood impacts alongside engineering needs. Hilo Harbor is one of Hawaiʻi Island’s two main commercial ports. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 59 16. Vulnerability of critical infrastructure, utilities and community lifelines Principal Sources / drivers: Tsunami; coastal/riverine flooding; sea-level rise; extreme storms/waves; debris; prolonged power outages; aging infrastructure; loss of access to critical facilities Summary management measures: Hazard-based siting/capital planning; protect/elevate/floodproof essential facilities; system redundancy and backup power; relocate/realign highly exposed assets; resilient redevelopment after disasters; protect evacuation/emergency access; integrate adaptation into asset management and CIP decisions. Survey Q61 - Additional Management Measures: • Map dependencies between power, water, wastewater, communications, fuel, and transportation. • Conduct joint outage drills, maintain critical spare parts and fuel agreements, and publish restoration priorities. • Establish accessible community resilience hubs with emergency supplies and backup communications. • Hilo’s aging wastewater plant shows why preventive maintenance matters: the County’s 2025 emergency proclamation identified corrosion, structural deterioration, and equipment defects that could cause sewage spills. Survey Q62 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Need to include native Hawaiian input or lineal descendants in some of these decisions. For example, I like how you say “Hazard-based siting”. Maybe, “Hazard & Culture-based siting” • Apply laulima, kuleana, and mālama ʻāina through neighborhood resource sharing, collective preparedness, and care for kūpuna. Invite local cultural practitioners to guide plans that protect water, food access, and community relationships. These principles complement engineered infrastructure, not replace it. Vibrant Hawaiʻi’s hub network offers a local model for culturally informed community resilience. Key County Partners: DPW; DEM; DWS; Civil Defense; PD; Mass Transit; County facility managers Survey Q63 - Additional County Partners: • Hawaiʻi Fire Department/EMS • Hawaiʻi Police Department • OHCD • DIT / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 60 Key State Partners: HDOT; HI-EMA; DOH; DLNR; relevant State facility owners; DHHL; Public Utilities Commission State of Hawaiʻi Survey Q63 - Additional State Partners: • Hawaiʻi State Energy Office • DOE • HHSC/Hilo Benioff Medical Center • Kapiʻolani Community College’s CERENE program for resilience hub planning. • UH Hilo Emergency Management Staff • University of Hawaiʻi Sea Grant • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office Key Federal Partners: FEMA; USACE; EPA; NOAA; U.S. DOT as applicable Survey Q63 - Additional Federal Partners: • US Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) Survey Q64 - Key Community Partners: • East Hawaiʻi Fisheries Working Group • Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company • Hawaiian Telcom • Prioritize Vibrant Hawaiʻi and participating Hilo resilience hubs, Hawaiian Electric, telecommunications providers, fuel suppliers, healthcare providers, pharmacies, grocery distributors, transportation businesses, and local contractors. Include neighborhood groups, cultural practitioners, disability advocates, senior services, faith communities, and the American Red Cross. Agree on specific roles before emergencies, including wellness checks, charging, medication refrigeration, communications, and supply distribution. / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 61 17. Degradation of Coastal and Marine Habitats Principal Sources / drivers: Land-based pollution - sedimentation, nutrients, etc. marine debris, contamination; coastal/offshore development and habitat modification. Invasive species, [overfishing], climate change/ocean warming, coral bleaching, ocean acidification, extreme events. Summary management measures: Green infrastructure; watershed management measures in sections 1-7 (e.g., erosion control) remediate ecosystem services. Coral Reef management, restoration; sustainable fishing practices, management of invasive species Survey Q65 - Additional Management Measures: • Need to include: 1) recreational impacts (stepping and breaking coral, sunscreen, human waste). 2) Freshwater volume to support groundwater dependent coastal ecosystems. • Remove the brackets on [over fishing]. • As a management measure, instead of “sustainable fishing practices”, change to “sustainable fishing policy”. Or, just add: “Sustainable fishing practices and policy.” • Coral Reef Management is good, but we specifically want management that makes the coral reef better. So, Coral Reef Mgmt “to increase resilience and abundance”? • Add "Support climate mitigation policies". • Establish a shared habitat baseline and measurable recovery targets for Hilo Bay and Keaukaha. Add rapid reporting of coral bleaching, fish kills, and invasive species; vessel biosecurity; protection from anchoring and trampling; and funded monitoring after storms. Build on local fishpond programs already conducting water quality monitoring and species recovery work. Survey Q66 - Traditional Native Hawaiian Practices: • Support practitioner led kilo, loko iʻa stewardship, and fishing practices informed by seasons, spawning cycles, and local knowledge. Protect freshwater connections that sustain coastal habitats. In Keaukaha, Hui Hoʻoleimaluō continues stewardship guided by the Malo ʻohana of Waiuli, providing a strong local model for connecting cultural knowledge, education, and ecosystem restoration. Key County Partners: PD, R&D/OSCER; P&R for County Lands. Survey Q67 - Additional County Partners: • DEM • DWS / Community Advisory Committee Input – Draft 10/20/26 62 Key State Partners: DLNR, DAR; DOH, CWB/SWPB, DLNR-DOBOR/OCCL, OPSD/CZM: Hawaiʻi Sea Grant Program; DHHL Survey Q67 - Additional State Partners: • University of Hawaiʻi - SeaGrant • UH Hilo Marine Science • UH Hilo PACRC • UH Hilo Tropical Conservation Biology and Environmental Science Graduate Program (TCBES) • UH Hilo Biology Department • UH Hilo Geography and Environmental Science Department • UH Hilo College of Agriculture, Forestry and Natural Resources Management • UH Hilo Chemistry Department • UH Hilo Geology Department • UH Hilo Anthropology Department • UH Hilo Ka Haka ʻUla O Keʻelikōlani, College of Hawaiian Language • UH College of Tropical and Subtropical Agriculture and Human Resiliency - Hawai'i Island Extension Office Komohana • UH Land and Conservation Futures Office • UH Mānoa Institute of Marine Biology Key Federal Partners: NOAA Fisheries, NCCOS, OCM, and NMFS; EPA; USFWS; USGS; USACE. Survey Q67 - Additional Federal Partners: • Respondent note: NOAA Fisheries and NMFS are the same agency and need only one listing Survey Q68 - Key Community Partners: • East Hawaiʻi Fisheries Working Group • ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative • Prioritize Hui Hoʻoleimaluō, ʻĀina Hoʻōla Initiative, Edith Kanakaʻole Foundation, Keaukaha Community Association, Ka ʻUmeke Kāʻeo, local fishers, cultural practitioners, lineal descendants, canoe clubs, and shoreline residents. Invite dive operators, harbor users, and nearby businesses to support monitoring and responsible ocean use. Existing Keaukaha partnerships already connect fishpond restoration, schools, and cultural stewardship.