Housing to benefit from proposed wastewater project

Jul 31, 2023

Jul 27, 2023

A map shows the location of the proposed Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility and the route of the pipeline that will transport R-1 recycled water to a storage facility in the Waikapu Country Town development to be used for agricultural irrigation and other nonpotable water purposes. MUNEKIYO HIRAGA graphic

A proposed wastewater facility in Central Maui is set to benefit a number of current and future housing projects, including the Waikapu Country Town development of more than 1,500 units and the master-planned Kehalani community.

Preparation is beginning for the environmental review process for the Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility and onsite soil aquifer treatment basin, which will sit on approximately 14.9 acres of former agricultural lands between Honoapiilani Highway and Kuihelani Highway.

Maui County filed an environmental impact statement preparation notice for the project that was published Sunday in the state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development’s “The Environmental Notice.”

The project also includes related offsite infrastructure improvements, such as a wastewater pump station near Kehalani, a sewage pipeline from the Kehalani wastewater pump station to the new central facility, portions of sewage pipeline and R-1 recycled water transmission line that will connect the central facility and the Waikapu Country Town development, and an access road for the central facility.

The central facility will service existing and planned developments throughout the Waikapu and Wailuku areas as well as state projects in Pulehunui.

A map shows the service area that could benefit from the proposed Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility, which has been in the works for years to provide an alternative to the current Wailuku-Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility, where the county has concerns over remaining capacity, shoreline erosion and potential impacts of a tsunami. BROWN AND CALDWELL graphic

Mike Atherton of Waikapu Properties, which is developing the Waikapu Country Town project, said on Tuesday that the central facility “is the best thing that could happen to Waikapu Country Town.”

Last year Atherton and then-Maui County Mayor Michael Victorino inked a public-private partnership deal to allow Atherton to add 213 workforce housing units in exchange for using the county’s wastewater services.

Atherton previously planned to build a private wastewater treatment plant to service the development.

County officials have said that under the partnership, the Waikapu development would temporarily connect to the county’s wastewater treatment plant in Kahului and later use the proposed central facility once it’s built.

Atherton estimated that work can fully begin next year on the Waikapu Country Town project, which will consist of more than 1,500 new single-family, multifamily and rural units as well as 146 ohana units. It will also include an agricultural preserve, parks and open space, a school and a residential town center.

The new wastewater facility has been in the works for more than a decade over concerns with the current Wailuku-Kahului Wastewater Reclamation Facility near Kanaha Pond along Amala Place. Maui County’s main concerns include remaining capacity, shoreline erosion and potential impacts of a tsunami.

After a study and meetings of a core working group made up of a diverse array of community members, the county Department of Public Works and Department of Environmental Management recommended a number of actions, which the Maui County Council agreed with. This included leaving the existing facility in its current site and expanding in the future; strengthening the existing facility to withstand a major tsunami, which was conducted in 2010; mitigating shoreline erosion, which was conducted in 2015; and implementing the long-term plan of action to serve the Central Maui Service Area, according to the preparation notice.

The proposed facility and the onsite soil aquifer treatment basin will accommodate 4 million gallons per day of wastewater.

Residual solid waste from the proposed liquid treatment processes will be disposed of at the Central Maui Landfill.

The effluent from the facility will comply with the state Department of Health requirements for R-1 recycled water. The primary method for disposing of the treated effluent will be to deliver it to a recycled water storage facility planned in the Waikapu Country Town development. Recycled water will be used for nonpotable purposes, including agricultural irrigation.

The proposed project will be developed over multiple phases. A project phasing plan and estimated project construction cost will be presented in the draft environmental impact statement.

The project will need to seek changes to various land entitlements such as a state Land Use Commission district boundary amendment, a county community plan amendment and a county change in zoning.

A public scoping meeting on the proposed Central Maui Wastewater Reclamation Facility and improvements will be held at 6 p.m. Aug. 16 at the Waikapu Community Center.

A 30-day public review and comment period has begun. Comments on the environmental impact statement preparation notice are due Aug. 22.

Comments should be sent to the Maui County Department of Environmental Management, which can be reached by mail at 2200 Main St., Suite 610, Wailuku, HI 96793; by phone at (808) 270-7268; and by email at [email protected].

Comments should also be copied to the consultant, Munekiyo Hiraga, which can be reached by mail at 305 High St., Suite 104, Wailuku, HI 96793; by phone at (808) 983-1233. Email, CentralMauiWWRF @munekiyohiraga.com.

To view the full EIS preparation notice, see planning.hawaii.gov/erp/environmental-notice/ and click on the July 23 edition.

* Staff Writer Melissa Tanji can be reached at [email protected].

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