In 2017, the Hawaii Legislature passed a bill requiring the replacement of all cesspools by 2050. Gov. David Ige signed that bill, and now a state working group is digging into how the state can make that law work.
Hawaii is a state of about 1.4 million people and has approximately 88,000 cesspools. The number of cesspools isn’t certain. What is certain is that those cesspools are contributing pollution to the ocean surrounding the Hawaiian Islands. From 2006 to 2016, fecal bacteria counts along the islands’ beaches increased fivefold.
State Rep. Nicole Lowen, D-Kailua-Kona, represents a district on the western shore
