Hawai‘i County Council to discuss release of additional funds to start rehab of Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant

Hawai‘i County is requesting that the County Council release $116 million in additional funds to enable work to begin on a federally mandated project at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Upgrades to the plant, which became operational in 1996, are part of an agreement the county entered into with the U.S. Environmental Protective Agency in April to address pollution discharge that was not meeting standards of the federal Clean Water Act.

“This plant hasn’t had any rehabs since it was built,” said Ramzi Mansour, director of the county’s Department of Environmental Management. “It’s going to be one of the biggest projects in the county for decades.”

Bill 214 will be discussed this morning during the council’s finance committee meeting. The additional funding, in the form of general obligation bonds, would be used to secure a contractor. General obligation bonds are a form of long-term borrowing in which repayment is backed by the municipalityʻs creditworthiness and ability to levy taxes on its residents.

The county opened bids for a contractor for the first of two phases of the plant upgrade on May 1, but In September rebid the project for both phases. Honolulu-based Nan Inc. came in with the lowest bid at about $337 million. Click here to see the bid results.

If the county council releases the requested $116 million, the funded part of the project would increase to $226 million.

Officials with the Department of Environmental Management said there are prior bond appropriations to cover the remaining cost of the project.

The renovation of the plant became even more urgent in June, when the Hawai‘i Department of Health issued a water quality advisory for portions of Hilo Bay after an estimated 607,000 gallons of non-chlorinated secondary treated effluent wastewater was discharged from the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The Environmental Management Department said the problem happened due to a failure of the chlorination system that occurred when the chlorine was being replenished.

In 2022, there was an even bigger discharge from the Hilo plant. The Hawai‘i Department of Health advised the public to remain out of the waters from Puhi Bay to Onekahakaha in Hilo because of an estimated 2.2 million gallons of partially treated sewage that began spilling into the bay.

The countyʻs agreement with the EPA, called an Administrative Order On Consent, also includes addressing the same deficiencies at Pāpa‘ikou and Kula‘imano wastewater treatment plants on the Big Island.

The county will also address the following issues within the EPA agreement:

• Design a new pipeline that conveys wastewater under pressure at Kealakehe
• Replace and repair the Hale Hālāwai and the Pua pipelines that convey wastewater under pressure
• Conduct a comprehensive condition assessment
• Complete an Integrated Master Plan for wastewater across the county
• Prepare a financial plan
• Update Operations and Maintenance manuals for all treatment systems
• Fully implement an Asset Management System for the county’s wastewater infrastructure
• Develop a Spill Response Plan to prevent and contain sewer spills
• Implement a preventative maintenance program for sewer lines to prevent spills

All projects need to be completed by 2035.

County officials stated it is difficult to estimate the total cost because the projects are in various stages of development. 

“Most of the projects are still undergoing design or design has not been completed,” he wrote.  The county will issue an invitation for bid for each project, and various factors could affect cost.”

According to an EPA press release, the consent order requires the County of Hawai‘i to address broken equipment and deferred maintenance and to develop a program to systematically repair, rehabilitate and replace aging infrastructure. The goal of these efforts is to prevent the reoccurrence of sewage breaks and sewage spills.

“This order ensures that the County of Hawai’i will prevent further harmful sewage discharges into the ocean, and fix its aging wastewater treatment plants,” said EPA Pacific Southwest Regional Administrator Martha Guzman. “Compliance with the Clean Water Act is essential to protecting public health and Hawai‘i’s cherished coastal waters. With our partners at Hawai‘i Department of Health, EPA will provide attentive oversight of Hawai‘i’s wastewater improvements.”

This additional appropriation is needed with the costs to renovate the Hilo plant becoming higher than anticipated, county documents indicate.

The construction market is unpredictable, resulting in the bids coming in higher than the county engineer’s initial estimate. County officials say costs have continued to rise due to increases in labor, materials and supply chain challenges.

County documents said the additional funds are to “ensure the impacts of our community are mitigated and shoreline resources are preserved.”

Mansour said once the county council authorizes the approval to obtain the funds, the department can award the contract and work can begin by the end of the year, with the entire project estimated to take seven years.

The EPA said in its press release that it identified significant operation and maintenance deficiencies at the Hilo plant that have affected the treatment systems, leading to violations of limitations on what the plants can discharge as well as sewer overflows.

“EPA has worked cooperatively with the county and Hawai’i Department of Health to identify needs for capital improvements, strengthened planning efforts, and asset management of the county’s wastewater infrastructure systems,” the EPA release stated.

The upgrades planned for the project include enabling the facility to provide treatment for additional wastewater from cesspool closures. Improvements include replacing influent screens, odor control equipment, and the receiving station. Additionally, renovation of the primary clarifiers, upgrades/replacement of secondary treatment process, replacing solids treatment process and sludge facility.

The facility also will receive electrical and instrumentation/control upgrades.

Mansour said the project will keep the county in compliance with Clean Water Act and it will improve the effluent quality and process quality.