Hawaiʻi has a deadline of 2050 to eliminate about 80,000 cesspools across the state. That target may seem far off, but at the state’s current pace, it would take more than 200 years to convert all its cesspools into compliant septic systems.
Currently, the state is converting about 400 cesspools a year. Stuart Coleman, the executive director of Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations, said that tempo needs to increase tenfold for the state to meet its goal.
But the burden of addressing cesspools largely falls on individual homeowners. Coleman estimates that converting a single cesspool can cost anywhere from $25,000 to $50,000, which is more than many homeowners can afford on their own.
“What people really need is just financing,” Coleman said.
This session, state lawmakers allocated $2 million in Green Fee funds to create a new low-interest loan and grant program for residents looking to convert their cesspools. The program will be administered by the Hawaiʻi Green Infrastructure Authority, a state agency that also helps low-to-moderate income households pay for solar systems.
Given the high cost of installing a septic system or connecting a property to municipal sewer, that money would likely cover fewer than one hundred cesspool conversions. But HGIA Executive Director Gwen Yamamoto Lau said she wanted to be somewhat conservative in her initial request for funding.
“I didn't want to ask for a big bucket of funds that sits there, because no one's willing to spend the money today on this unless they have to,” Yamamoto Lau.
In addition to covering costs, getting community buy-in has proven to be another stumbling block for cesspool conversion projects. Honolulu’s Department of Environmental Services paused an $83 million effort that would have connected hundreds of homes in ʻEwa to municipal sewer at no cost to homeowners after the community expressed disinterest in the project.
“There was no support,” DES Director Roger Babcock told city lawmakers in a hearing on Tuesday. He added community members expressed concerns about being on the hook for sewer fees and possible damages to their properties during construction, as well as a general sense that immediate action on their cesspools wasn’t warranted.
“The mandate is still quite a ways into the future — 2050 — so it doesn't seem like there's an urgency to the folks there,” Babcock said.
Yamamoto Lau is considering how HGIA’s loan program could incentivize homeowners to take steps to convert their cesspools sooner rather than later. Honolulu City and County is pitching in $625,000 of its own funds to the program, and Yamamoto Lau said that money could be used to buy down interest rates; Oʻahu residents who apply for the program before 2030 could qualify for zero-percent interest loans.
Yamamoto Lau added that she’s interested in forging partnerships with other counties, as well as philanthropic partners.
“We don't discriminate against funding sources, so any … capital is welcome to help move the needle on cesspool conversions,” she said.
The measure to create the loan program is currently awaiting Gov. Josh Green’s signature. Assuming it gets enacted into law, Yamamoto Lau said she wants to launch the program by the end of the year.
