Kaʻū News Briefs Jan. 12, 2025

Location of the future $31 million wastewater treatment plant and collection lines near corner of Maile St. and Hwy 11.

A MEETING ON TRAFFIC CHANGES IN PAHALA FOR BUILDING NEW SEWER LINES is set for the Herkes Kaʻū District Gym at 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. on Monday, Jan. 13. It is hosted by contractor Goodfellow Bros. and County of Hawai'i. They are building a new wastewater treatment plan and 
collection lines for the project which is expected to last for about 18 months.
    According to the project Implementation P lan, construction cost for the Pāhala Collection System Phase I & II funding has been secured in the amount of $30,922,272 (COH-DEM was recently awarded ARPA funds for the Collection System Phase I & Phase II construction), in combination with County General fund via GO bonds. The WWTP facility will be funded through County General Fund via GO bonds.
    Read the Implementation Plan at www.dem.hawaiicounty.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/308434.
    The Implementation Plan describes planning, design, and construction schedule for the package wastewater treatment plant and new collection system, following EPA’s approval of the Final Environmental Information Document.

    The County is overseeing the design and engineering, and the acquisition of necessary land and easements, for the collection system, treatment plant, and disposal system. Owners of homes in the affected area will have received via USPS a right-of-entry agreement for the construction of the new collection system. The County asked owners sign the agreement and return it to the County in the enclosed envelope.
    The final deadline for the County to close the large capacity cesspools is January 22, 2027. Those cesspools are illegal nationally and are left over from the sugar plantation days.

VOLCANO AWARENESS MONTH organizers at U.S. Geological Survey invite the public to a session called Kīlauea Volcanos Changing Summit. It will be held this Tuesday, Jan. 14 from 10 a.m. - 11 a.m. at Uēkahuna parking lot in Hawai‘i Volcanoes National Park. Learn about collapse of volcano’s summit caldera, Kaluapele, activity in the volcano’s rift zones, current status of Kīlauea and what might be coming next. Free event. Park fees apply.