When you flush the toilet, where does it all go? And as more housing is built, how will that wastewater be addressed?
The County of Maui is working on a proposed wastewater reclamation facility that’s in the early stages of planning. It would service existing and planned developments in the Waikapū and Wailuku areas.
The Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility and Soil Aquifer Treatment basin would be located on about 15 acres of former agricultural lands.
In 2006, the County of Maui approved a study to look at the future of the existing wastewater treatment facility. The county identified three primary concerns: remaining capacity, shoreline erosion and potential tsunami impacts.
A Tsunami Protection Project was implemented in 2010. The Shoreline Erosion Protection Project was completed in 2015. Now, the proposed new facility would address capacity and expansion concerns for the future waste needs of the central Maui area.
The county says there are a number of housing projects, including affordable housing, planned in the area that would be served by the new facility.
The Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility will be designed to accommodate 4 million gallons per day of wastewater.
Residual solid waste from the proposed liquid treatment process would be disposed of at the Central Maui Landfill.
Liquid wastewater would be routed to a recycled water storage facility that is planned within the future Waikapū Country Town development. Recycled water will be used for non-potable purposes like agricultural irrigation.
There is no timeline or cost proposed yet for the project. Those will be included in the draft Environmental Impact Statement as the next phase of planning.
The public can offer comments on the proposed project until Aug. 22 and can be sent to the accepting authority, with a copy sent to the consultant.
- Accepting Authority: County of Maui, Department of Environmental Management, 2200 Main Street, Suite 610, Wailuku, Hawaiʻi 96793.
- Consultant: Munekiyo Hiraga, 305 High Street, Suite 104, Wailuku, Hawai‘i 96793.
An Aug. 16 meeting is planned at the Waikapū Community Center at 6 pm.
