While marine debris often captures headlines as a visible threat to Hawaii’s beaches, another equally pressing issue lurks beneath the surface: pollution from cesspools.
According to the state Department of Health, Hawaii is home to approximately 88,000 cesspools — unlined pits that dispose of untreated sewage directly into the ground — with nearly 50,000 on Hawaii island, 14,000 on Kauai, over 12,000 on Maui, more than 11,000 on Oahu and around 1,400 on Molokai
Of these, 43,000 cesspools pose a direct risk to Hawaii’s precious water resources, contaminating groundwater and coastal waters with harmful bacteria, nutrients and pathogens. About 6,700 cesspools sit within 200 feet of perennial stream channels and roughly 31,000 lie within perennial watersheds across Hawaii island, Kauai, Maui and Molokai — areas critical for sustaining freshwater ecosystems.
Every day these cesspools release an estimated 53 million gallons of untreated sewage into Hawaii’s environment, severely impacting drinking water quality, harming coral reef ecosystems and posing health risks to residents and visitors alike. This pollution exacerbates beach closures and waterborne illnesses, threatening both community well-being and the tourism economy.
Surfrider’s 2024 Clean Water Report highlights local successes and America’s worst beach bacteria hot spots. Two Hawaii beaches — Kahaluu (Oahu) and Koloa Landing (Kauai) — failed water quality standards nearly every test last year, with bacteria rates of 92% and 90%, respectively.
While the DOH tests 57 popular beaches weekly, Surfrider volunteers sampled 83 sites across Kauai, Maui and Oahu, processing 1,079 water samples in 2024. Seven sites on Oahu and eight on Kauai exceeded health standards in over half their samples. Notably, three Kauai stream mouths and Oahu’s Punaluu Beach Park failed every test.
Fourteen of 15 sites exceeding health standards over 50% of the time are in Priority 1 and 2 cesspool hazard areas — indicating sewage pollution is a major factor affecting water quality.
In response to growing concerns, the DOH has developed a Cesspool Hazard Assessment &Prioritization Tool to identify and prioritize cesspools for replacement. The state Legislature has mandated full cesspool replacement by 2050 to protect water quality and public health
On the federal level, the Environmental Protection Agency has stepped up enforcement against large-capacity cesspools. In 2025, the EPA closed five illegal cesspools on Kauai and Hawaii island that were discharging untreated sewage, citing violations of the federal ban under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
However, ongoing EPA funding cuts — amounting to multimillion-dollar reductions in the agency’s budget — threaten to undermine its capacity for enforcement and environmental protection, raising concerns about the long-term effectiveness of such efforts.
Source: The Garden Island
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