A variety of contractors serve the onsite treatment industry on Hawaii’s Big Island. But there’s no intense competition among them.
“We all kind of have our own niche, and we have a lot of respect for each other,” says Paul Balberde, co-owner of 2B Environmental, based in Waimea. “Everybody has their own clientele. We cover for each other. We’re all just trying to put food on the table and take care of our families.”
The niche for 2B Environmental is serving cities, wastewater treatment plants and larger commercial enterprises, in addition to extensive residential work. A combination vacuum/jetting truck and a trailer-mounted jetter enable heavier-duty tasks like cleaning sewer lines and pumping sludge from large tanks.
“If a sewer force main goes down, or a pump station goes down, we can act pretty quickly,” says Balberde, who owns the business with his brother, Garrett. “We have the manpower, and our knowledge of wastewater treatment gives us an understanding of what the operators need. After that, it’s just being reliable, answering the phone and responding.”
2B serves the entire 4,000 square miles of the Big Island with six team members and four vacuum trucks. Core services include septic system pumping, maintenance and minor repairs; cesspool, dry well and storm drain cleaning; and septic system inspections.
Fulfilling a dream
For years the Balberde brothers, born and raised in Hawaii, wanted to own a business. After high school, Paul joined the U.S. Navy and served as a utilities man in the Seabees, where he learned water and wastewater treatment, plumbing and HVAC.
After leaving the service, he worked in commercial plumbing and then for 13 years (1993-2006) as an operator at the county of Hawaii’s Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Garrett, meanwhile, worked for 17 years as a state corrections officer.
Still, “The dream was to work for ourselves and build a better life,” Paul says. “One evening, over beers at our parents’ home, Garrett and I decided, ‘Let’s buy our own pumper truck.’ We recognized the potential in septic tank pumping as a growing business.”
In 2002 they launched B&B Pumping Services, based in Hilo. They later purchased Bob’s Sweetwater Pumping Service in Waimea from Bobby Miguel, a close family friend and retired firefighter who was transitioning out of the pumping business. Two years ago they unified the branding to operate solely as 2B Environmental.
“In the beginning, we decided to have no employees,” says Paul. “We didn’t want the hassle with taxes and insurance. We just wanted to be our own boss, do our own thing.” They bought their first pumper from Miguel, a 1984 International with a 3,500-gallon steel tank. They refurbished it and went to work.
Next they bought a 1993 Mack flatbed, installed a 3,600-gallon stainless steel tank from Glendale Welding, and mounted a new Masport 400 vacuum pump. In all, they fabricated or refurbished four vacuum trucks. “On the island, there are not too many suppliers,” says Paul. “You do what you have to do. Finally, I told Garrett, ‘We’re not in the pumper truck building business.’”
Today the septic truck fleet includes three units built by West-Mark. A 2023 Kenworth T880 and 2019 Kenworth T800, both with a 4,000-gallon aluminum tank, Omega hose reel and NVE 4310 blower. They also have a 2022 Kenworth T370 with 2,200-gallon stainless steel tank and NVE 4307 blower.
The company also owns a 2007 Peterbilt Juggler Unit with 3,500-gallon aluminum tank, Omega Hose Reel and NVE blower, and a 2005 Kenworth T800 with 4,000-gallon stainless steel tank and NVE 4310 blower, built in-house.
Getting it done
In the early years, Paul still had his job as a wastewater operator. Garrett, who had a CDL, did the driving. The brothers learned the business in part by attending what is now the WWETT Show: “We would go almost every year, developing relationships, dealing with vendors and attending the classes.”
As the business grew, it became clear that they needed to add staff. They first hired a nephew John Balberde and then a friend Aukai Enriques, both part time. In 2008 they brought on Kawika Lau as their first full-time team member.
“It just took off from there,” says Paul. “We hired more people as needed.” Today, the team also includes Paul’s daughter Annie Padilla, who runs the office as well as Michael Andrade and David Auld.
Garrett and Andrade service the east side of the island. Serving the west side are Paul, Lau and Auld. Drive time is significant, since the island spans 90 to 100 miles from east to west. The septage disposal site is the wastewater treatment plant in Kona on the west side and Hilo on the east side about 30 miles from home base. “We do jobs in Kohala, which is a 100-mile round trip,” Paul observes.
That means efficiency is paramount, and the septic tank pumping process is designed to make the best use of truck operators’ time. Padilla takes the calls, answers customers’ basic questions and handles routing and scheduling by way of Housecall Pro software.
In the field, one team member prepares the site, locating the tank using a Pearpoint push camera if needed, and exposing the tank lid. “When the pumper shows up, it’s in and out really quick,” says Paul. “We don’t like to send out a pumper truck and then find out the tank can’t be located. That’s a lot of wasted time.
“We have a pretty neat setup of prepping, scheduling and pumping. Annie is really good with that, and she tries to schedule two, three or four jobs in the same area. Then we can include discounts for neighbors, or for referrals.”
Bigger jobs
Commercial work calls for more diverse equipment. That includes a Vactor vacuum/jetting truck, an Eagle 300 trailer jetter from JETTERS NORTHWEST and a portable RIDGID KJ-3100 jetter as a backup and for smaller jobs.
2B Environmental does storm drain cleaning, mostly for private subdivisions, hotels, resorts and uses the Vactor to assist the county of Hawaii with sewer line cleaning when necessary.
Business with resorts is growing. “The resorts are doing a lot of improvements to infrastructure,” Paul says. “Many of them were built in the 1980s, so they’re upgrading and lining their sewers.”
Growth in the commercial and residential sectors has come naturally, through referrals and word of mouth: “We have built a lot of good relationships with contractors and wastewater treatment operators over the years, just by treating people well. A lot of people who move from the mainland rely on Yelp reviews, so that helps us a lot.”
On the residential side, quality service means attentiveness to customers. “Our basic approach starts with Annie,” Paul says. “She’s great in the office. She answers their questions and makes sure they understand.
“And when we go out, we listen to our customers. We don’t act like we know it all. We address their concerns and make suggestions and recommendations. And we try to accommodate them when we schedule. If we say we’ll be there at 10 o’clock, we do our best to be there.”
Families first
While customers are treated well, so are team members. “It’s hard to find good people, so when we get them, we take care of them,” Paul says. “We can find drivers, but we don’t just drive. We need people who can deal with customers and do the work in the field.”
Team members receive competitive wages, health insurance, a 401(k) retirement account and paid vacations. They also benefit from schedule flexibility that enables them to attend to family matters: “We emphasize taking care of their family. The wives and kids are the ones who sacrifice when we go out late at night. They sacrifice a lot.”
Working in paradise
Meanwhile, continued growth lies ahead for 2B Environmental. As of summer, the Balberde brothers were looking to hire two new people to keep up with demand for service. “It’s about the relationships we have with other pumping companies, contractors and vendors — being honest and doing our best to protect the environment,” Paul says.
“This is a beautiful place to live. In the morning we can be pumping out an observatory’s septic system at the top of Mauna Kea, which is at 13,800 feet elevation. From up there, on a clear day, you can see the whole island. An hour later we can be at sea level.
“I’d like to give a shoutout to our father, Lawrence Balberde, who passed away about a year ago. He was our biggest cheerleader. He taught us everything — work ethic, how to be honest, how to deal with people. He was so proud that his boys started their own business.
“He was a fireman, and my first dream was to become a fireman. Now our job is kind of like being firemen. We show up in a red truck with hoses, and people are happy to see us.”
