Bill Text: HI HCR94 | 2023 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Urging The Department Of Health To Continue To Prioritize Testing Of Fecal Indicator Bacteria Levels In The Waters Of Pokai Bay And Requesting The City And County Of Honolulu Department Of Parks And Recreation To Prioritize Renovations Of The Restroom Facilities At Pokai Bay.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-0)
Status: (Passed) 2023-04-28 - Received notice of Agreement and Adoption in House (Hse. Com. No. 891). [HCR94 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2023-HCR94-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
94 |
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THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, Pokai Bay is one of the most-visited ocean areas on Oahu's Leeward Coast because of its wide sandy beach and relatively calm waters; and
WHEREAS, because it is protected by an offshore breakwater, Pokai Bay maintains calm conditions year-round, which makes it an ideal location for many ocean users, including swimmers, canoe paddlers, surfers, snorkelers, boaters, divers, and stand-up paddlers; and
WHEREAS, despite Pokai Bay's pristine appearance of crystal-blue waters and white sand, it is sadly the site of pollution from multiple sources, including runoff from surrounding surfaces, illegal dumping, and user-induced contaminants; and
WHEREAS, over the last decade, beach users and local community members have reported the presence of health and environmental hazards at Pokai Bay; and
WHEREAS, additional suspected sources of pollution at Pokai Bay include water runoff containing industrial pollutants from local surface streets, parking lots, and sidewalks; illegally moored boats; and petrochemical-based pollutants from vehicular use of an adjacent boat ramp; and
WHEREAS, historically, illegal dumping of dredging materials and other substances has occurred at higher rates along the Leeward Coast, including at Pokai Bay, than at other locations on Oahu; and
WHEREAS, the significant use of Leeward Coast beaches for camping and associated activities of daily life by homeless persons, such as bathing, are suspected to have introduced higher than normal levels of bacteria to the sand and waters at Pokai Bay, resulting in a rash of staph infections and other health problems among regular beach users; and
WHEREAS, a 2015 study by professors and researchers at the University of Hawaii at Manoa's Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering found that beach sand holds more fecal indicator bacteria than seawater; and
WHEREAS, based upon the results of this study, the beach sand at Pokai Bay may be found to retain pollutants from the restroom facilities in the area, specifically rinse-off from the showers and fecal bacteria from toilet plumbing; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Health has the supplies to test seawater and occasionally tests the seawater in Pokai Bay specifically for fecal indicator bacteria, which decays at slower rates in the beach sand than in seawater; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is urged to continue to prioritize testing of fecal indicator bacteria levels and any other pollutants in the waters of Pokai Bay; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is urged to make testing of fecal indicator bacteria levels and any other pollutants in Pokai Bay a priority of the Department's non-point source pollution program; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Health is urged to address land-based point and non-point sources of water pollution into Pokai Bay; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation is requested to prioritize renovations of the restroom facilities at Pokai Bay; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health and Director of the City and County of Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation.
Pokai Bay; Beach Sand; DOH; Honolulu Department of Parks and Recreation
