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<br />Mitchell D. Roth Georjean Adams <br /> <br />,§¿µ¸Ɏ"®§¯¸Ɏ <br /> <br />ɎɎ <br /> <br />Ramzi I. Mansour Rick Gaffney <br /> <br />#¯¸«©ºµ¸ȍɎ#«¶§¸º³«´ºɎµ¬Ɏ5¯©«Ɏ"®§¯¸Ɏ <br /> <br />$´¼¯¸µ´³«´º§²Ɏ,§´§­«³«´ºɎ <br /> <br />ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT COMMISSION <br /> Ph: (808) 961-8083 Fax: (808) 961-8086 <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM <br /> <br />DATE: October 19, 2021 <br /> <br />TO: Mitch Roth, Mayor <br /> Maile David, Chair, and members of the Hawaii County Council <br /> Ramzi Mansour, Director, Department of Environmental Management <br /> <br />FROM: Georjean Adams, Chair <br /> Environmental Management Commission <br /> <br />RE: Water Policy for Resource Recovery at Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant <br /> <br /> <br /> On September 22, 2021, at the monthly meeting of the Environmental Management <br />Commission (EMC), the EMC voted unanimously in favor of the following recommendations <br />for the County of Hawaii: <br /> <br /> 1) The County should adopt a water conservation and reuse policy that would specifically <br />designate the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant (KWWTP) as a Water Resource <br />Recovery Facility to be used exclusively for the recycling of wastewater. <br /> <br />When KWWTP was originally proposed in the 1990s it was intended to include recycling and <br />reuse of water; the discharge of treated water pumped upslope was thought of as a temporary <br />solution. Recent, exceedingly expensive proposals for upgrades that continue to consider <br />KWWTP as a wastewater disposal facility go counter to the philosophy of sustainability. With <br />climate change pressures on water availability and the health of our coastal waters, it is critical <br />that we have a change in mindset to mlama . The EMC believes we can do <br />that water recovery facility. We should reduce the <br />water taken from aquifers by using recovered R1 water for agriculture. We could also avoid the <br />treatment necessary for direct discharge to the ocean. Furthermore, by selling our recovered <br />water, we can recoup costs of treatment and distribution and spend much less for a reuse facility <br /> <br /> <br />2) The Department of Environmental Management (DEM) should have adequate funding <br />to resolve saltwater infiltration into the sewer system and needs an enforcement ordinance <br />Employer. <br /> <br /> <br />