Committee forwards $31 million Kealakehe wastewater R1 upgrade required by settlement; project phased with modular treatment and reuse planning

The Committee on Finance voted to forward Bill 79 to council with a favorable recommendation. The bill would add a $31,000,000 appropriation to the capital budget for the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant R1 upgrade project. According to the bill text presented to the committee, the project and associated funding respond to a recent lawsuit settlement requiring the county to upgrade the plant to produce R1-quality water for reuse.

Chris Laude, acting wastewater division chief, described a revised technical approach from previous proposals. “The technology we're proposing is modular and expandable,” Laude said, explaining that the county plans to phase the work so the first phase treats about 1.4 million gallons per day (MGD) with the capacity to upgrade to a full 2.8 MGD later. Laude said the county will move away from sand-filter technology — which he described as labor intensive and impractically large for the required capacity — to membrane bioreactors followed by ultraviolet disinfection to reduce chlorinated byproducts and facilitate reuse.

Laude said the $31 million covers treatment to R1 standards but does not fund distribution infrastructure to move treated water off-site. The county intends to use R1 water initially for on-site irrigation and to clean and restore the plant’s ponds; future off-site distribution would require additional study and would increase costs depending on distance and whether pipelines or trucking were used.

Laude said design work is advanced and that construction was already out for bid; the county expected bids to close in December. Council members asked whether the project timeline and approach would meet obligations under the settlement; corporate counsel (reported in the chamber) gave a positive indication during the meeting.

Council members supported forwarding the bill. The clerk recorded eight ayes with one member absent.