Waimanalo sewage moratorium lifted after 20 years

WAIMANALO—The City and County of Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services announced today it has lifted a moratorium on new sewer connections in the Waimanalo Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) service area.

The moratorium has been in place since November 26, 1991, from Makapu‘u Point to Bellows Air Force Station, making up the Waimanalo WWTP service area.

The plant, built in 1968, is owned by the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, but has been operated by the City since its inception.  The State is in the process of finalizing documents to turn the plant over to the City. The plant was able to process 800,000 gallons a day before the State spent $21 million in upgrades, including expanding capacity to 1.1 million gallons a day. 

Currently, the Waimanalo WWTP processes about 600,000 gallons of sewage per day to a secondary treatment level, using 10 underground injection wells approximately 200 feet deep.