(BIVN) – An unintentional bypass of the de-chlorination system occurred at the Pāpa‘ikou Wastewater Treatment Plant sometime between Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning, officials say.
The bypass resulted in the discharge of “fully treated, fully disinfected wastewater with possibly elevated residual chlorine” into the ocean offshore of Pāpa‘ikou.
The Hawaiʻi County Department of Environmental Management says about 117,000 gallons of the treated wastewater was discharged between 9 a.m. on October 20, and 8 a.m. on October 21. However, the de-chlorination system failure began at an unknown time after staff left the facility at about 3 p.m. on October 20th. The failure was detected by staff at about 8 a.m. the next morning.
The precise amount discharged while the de-chlorination system was not functioning cannot be determined.
Upon detection, proper notification was made to the Hawai’i Department of Health, the County says.
Staff added de-chlorination tablets to reduce chlorine levels while they repaired the system.
“Residual chlorine levels returned to normal at about 8:05 a.m.,” the Department of Environmental Management says. “Staff continued adding de-chlorination tablets until the dispenser system was repaired and returned to operation at about 12:56 p.m. Oct. 21. The cause of the dispenser system failure remains under investigation.”
“The County of Hawaiʻi is evaluating additional monitoring equipment and backup de-chlorination methods to reduce the likelihood of future failures and reduce their potential impact,” the County reports.
