I support the prohibition of any entirely new wastewater reclamation facilities in tsunami zones. However, I do not want to see any bill enacted that prohibits the planned "R-1" upgrades at the Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility. These are important upgrades including the installation of hardware to enable ultraviolet disinfection treatment that will allow the facility to:
1. produce R-1 disinfected reuse wastewater to supply reuse projects in Central Maui, and
2. to disinfect effluent disposed into very nearshore injection wells near Kanaha recreation areas.
If a bill completely prohibits any new wastewater infrastructure construction in tsunami zones then these important upgrades might be blocked. Please add specific language that carves out an exception for "R-1" upgrades at the Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility. We cannot wait for an as-yet undefined completely new wastewater reclamation facility in the middle of the valley, we need to stick to the current plan to upgrade Kahului-Wailuku WWRF to produce R-1 by 2025. We need rapid transition to 100% reuse so if you do pass a bill that prohibits all new wastewater infrastructure construction in a tsunami zone, be absolutely sure that it does not block the long overdue "R-1" upgrades in Kahului. Even if we continue to use injection wells there, 100% of that effluent should always be disinfected. It may not be a legal standard, but it should be a community standard we uphold as an island to avoid giving rise to conditions in which human beings or marine life are spending time in non-disinfected wastewater.
Mahalo for your attention,
Travis Liggett
President, Reef Power LLC
www.reefpowermaui.com
www.instagram.com/reefpowermaui
CARE-44 CC 21-139 PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IN SEA LEVEL RISE EXPOSURE AREAS (CARE-44)
Dear Chair and Members of the Climate Action, Resilience, and Environmental Committee,
As a Kīhei resident, I have observed first-hand the climate change impacts already upon us. The need for the County to proactively mitigate the worst of these impacts is evident. This bill will align County infrastructure siting and relocation with Sea Grant’s and DLNR’s 2020 “Guidance for Using the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area in Local Planning and Permitting Decisions”. As such, this bill represents a science-based course of action to mitigate potentially devastating environmental, cultural, and social impacts inundation of these facilities would bring.
Aloha Councilmembers,
I support the prohibition of any entirely new wastewater reclamation facilities in tsunami zones. However, I do not want to see any bill enacted that prohibits the planned "R-1" upgrades at the Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility. These are important upgrades including the installation of hardware to enable ultraviolet disinfection treatment that will allow the facility to:
1. produce R-1 disinfected reuse wastewater to supply reuse projects in Central Maui, and
2. to disinfect effluent disposed into very nearshore injection wells near Kanaha recreation areas.
If a bill completely prohibits any new wastewater infrastructure construction in tsunami zones then these important upgrades might be blocked. Please add specific language that carves out an exception for "R-1" upgrades at the Kahului-Wailuku Wastewater Reclamation Facility. We cannot wait for an as-yet undefined completely new wastewater reclamation facility in the middle of the valley, we need to stick to the current plan to upgrade Kahului-Wailuku WWRF to produce R-1 by 2025. We need rapid transition to 100% reuse so if you do pass a bill that prohibits all new wastewater infrastructure construction in a tsunami zone, be absolutely sure that it does not block the long overdue "R-1" upgrades in Kahului. Even if we continue to use injection wells there, 100% of that effluent should always be disinfected. It may not be a legal standard, but it should be a community standard we uphold as an island to avoid giving rise to conditions in which human beings or marine life are spending time in non-disinfected wastewater.
Mahalo for your attention,
Travis Liggett
President, Reef Power LLC
www.reefpowermaui.com
www.instagram.com/reefpowermaui
CARE-44 CC 21-139 PUBLIC INFRASTRUCTURE IN SEA LEVEL RISE EXPOSURE AREAS (CARE-44)
Dear Chair and Members of the Climate Action, Resilience, and Environmental Committee,
As a Kīhei resident, I have observed first-hand the climate change impacts already upon us. The need for the County to proactively mitigate the worst of these impacts is evident. This bill will align County infrastructure siting and relocation with Sea Grant’s and DLNR’s 2020 “Guidance for Using the Sea Level Rise Exposure Area in Local Planning and Permitting Decisions”. As such, this bill represents a science-based course of action to mitigate potentially devastating environmental, cultural, and social impacts inundation of these facilities would bring.
Mahalo for this opportunity to provide testimony.
Elizabeth Winternitz
Kīhei