LĪHU’E – Wastewater officials report that yesterday’s partial power outage at the Līhu’e Wastewater Treatment Plant caused between 400,000 and 500,000 gallons of treated effluent to spill into the storm drain that leads into Kalapakī Bay.
The exact cause of the outage, which happened at about 5 p.m., has yet to be determined. However, it appears to have occurred on an internal circuit and did not involve Kaua’i Island Utility Cooperative (KIUC).
Officials have determined that the spill occurred between the secondary treatment process and the tertiary treatment process, and was limited to secondary treated effluent.
Kalapakī Beach remains closed while officials await water quality test results from the state Department of Health. Initial test results won’t be available until at least tomorrow afternoon.
Signs notifying beachgoers of the closure will remain posted along the beach until the water is deemed safe for swimming. The public is advised to stay out of the water until the signs are removed.
County crews continue to follow the direction of the state Department of Health in the management of the spill.
Updated information on this incident will be released as it becomes available.
Report from Kauai county