WASTEWATER SYSTEMS

PUBLIC NOTICE OF

VARIANCE APPLICATION NO. WW 290

DOCKET NO. 08 – VWW – 19

Pursuant to H.R.S. Section 342D-7(i), Hawaii Revised Statutes, the State Department of Health (DOH) seeks written comments from interested persons regarding the following. The County of Hawaii at 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii has applied for a variance for the maximum of five (5) years as stated in the variance application from Hawaii Administrative Rules (HAR) Section 11-62-26(b)(2)(c) Wastewater effluent requirements, recycled water quality, and monitoring requirements applicable to treatment works treating domestic wastewater. Treatment works’ effluent and other parameters shall be monitored as follows and shall not exceed the following limits: Suspended solids. The suspended solids in the effluent from a treatment works shall not exceed 30 miligrams per liter based on the arithmetic average of the results of the analyses of composite samples. Ms. Bobby Jean Leithead Todd, Director, Department of Environmental Management, County of Hawaii is the individual authorized to act for the applicant. The applicant is requesting the variance for the Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Plant at location 75-5220 Queen Kaahumanu Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii at TMK: (3) 7-4-008: 058.
The applicant has made the following comments.
1 Presently the facility is a 5-lagoon treatment system operated in series with lagoons 1,
2 and 3 operated as partial mix aerated lagoons and lagoons 4 and 5 operating as
facultative lagoons in order to meet 5 day BOD effluent limits.
2 The long detention times resulting from operation of all 5 lagoons in series has resulted
in algal growth in the lagoons resulting in exceedances of TSS effluent limitations of 30 mg/l established by HAR Section 11-62-26(b)(2)(c).
3 Presently, the County has contracted an engineering consulting firm who will assist with
upgrading the Aeration System at the facility and remove accumulated sludge from the lagoons. The scope of work will include reclassification of the KWWTP to meet alternative secondary treatment limits. Projected completion for the aeration upgrade is January 2011 and projected removal of sludge is July 2011.
4 It is requested that the variance from TSS effluent limitations established by HAR
section 11-62-26(b)(2)(c) be applicable for a period of five (5) years. Although both Aeration Upgrade and Sludge Removal work are projected to be completed in 2011 only funding for the Aeration Upgrade work has been secured at this time. Due to the present economic outlook and lack of SRF funding, the additional time is requested to allow securing of funding for the Sludge Removal Work and to allow for any delays in design completion and/or construction completion.
5 Effective treatment by the facility is maintained as evidenced by the low 5-day BOD
readings and high removal efficiencies achieved by the facility during the same period as exceedances of TSS effluent limitations.