Lingering wastewater smell in Kailua is affecting residents and businesses
By Shanila Kabir
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KAILUA, Hawaii (KITV) — Kailua residents said they are constantly smelling a sewage and/or chemical smell. Not only does the odor drive people away from a very popular beach, but it is also becoming a health concern.
A local business owner said, depending on which way the wind is blowing, the terrible smell goes far beyond Kailua.
“It can cause infections. It’s just smelly and gross and there needs to be a long-term plan, I think, for fixing this,” said Tracy Brilhante, owner of Brilhante Picture Framing and Fine Art.
Kailua resident Jonah Lunn said the smell affects his day to day life, even when he is walking his dog.
“Some days are worse than others. Some days I can literally smell it on my clothes and I feel dirty,” said Lunn.
Director of Environmental Services Roger Babcock said the odor comes from a combination of factors.
“Unfortunately, odors could have to do with gases escaping from the surfaces of the tanks and stuff while it’s being processed. Normally, we capture those odors as much as we can but occasionally there will be some instances,” said Babcock.
Area leaders said Kailua is uniquely situated. Oahu’s largest wetland, Kawai Nui Marsh is above Kailua.
Pat Branco said flooding over time has caused water circulation issues.
“In 2021, there was actually a spillage into Kailua Bay. The Wastewater Treatment Plant treats about 15-million gallons of waste from the Kailua-Kaneohe area. There was an equipment malfunction, so for a week period basically raw sewage was being dumped into Kailua. We’re not saying right into the bay, the spillage bay is quite far out,” said Branco.
Kailua Chair Bill Hicks said the board is working with the city to enforce no street parking once a month on streets that have storm drains.
“It’ll be affective street sweeping to minimize the pollutant load that goes into our water ways,” said Hicks.
The City and County of Honolulu is monitoring enterococcus, the bacteria that is found in ocean waters. They have taken multiple water samples that have contained elevated levels of the bacteria in the past few days and will continue to monitor conditions along the shoreline.
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