Fecal bacteria found at a number of Hawaii beaches
By Paul Drewes
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HONOLULU (KITV) — Hawaii’s beaches not only have hazards like rough surf conditions or aggressive water life, some may have a hidden danger: fecal bacteria.
“It is very deceiving, look how glassy it is today, a lot of the people are oblivious to how dirty the ocean can be,” said Honolulu resident Jason Allen.
Allen has been surfing his whole life, and now worries about catching more than just waves when he hits the water.
“I get cellulitis all the time, I never had that growing up. Now the littlest cuts you can’t avoid it because the bacteria is super high,” added Allen.
The bacteria he is talking about is enterocci, which indicates there is fecal matter in the water.
In addition to the state testing for it, Surfrider Foundation volunteers have been testing for it every other Sunday at select beaches around the state.
“We wanted to show the correlation between the amount of cesspool and pollution in our waters,” said Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task Force Co-Coordinator Arleen Velasco.
That is what they found. Not just periodic high levels of fecal bacteria in areas where cesspools are found, but 7 of the 20 sites around Oahu, had 50% of their samples for the entire year above state health standards.
“The higher the levels, the higher incidents of skin rashes, staph infections, ear aches, stomach upsets. Those levels have been increasing.
Areas you would think are pristine really aren’t, including along the south shore. Around Diamond Head, which looks pristine, but it has high levels of bacteria, because there are cesspools there,” added Velasco.
Surfrider Foundation volunteers will let the Department of Health know if fecal bacteria levels come back higher than acceptable safety levels.
While the state may post warning signs many people, especially visitors, are unaware of the danger.
“I’ve seen people and kids jumping into the river with the warning sign right there. I would like to get people more aware of what is happening and have them look at our sites,” stated Velasco.
Read more on the Oahu’s Blue Water Task Force report here: oahu.surfrider.org/bwtfreport2022
Experienced water men know what to look for when they gets in the ocean.
“The quality of the water, making sure it is not polluted. I want to swim in the best, cleanest, and freshest water,” said Makaha resident Nalu Lalawai.
That is why he would also like to see our waters tested even more frequently.
“I think all the waters from public beaches should be tested every day, for e-coli, and lead an all that,” added Lalawai.
Right now Surfrider Foundation volunteers are not able to test ocean waters after a big storm or sewage spill, but Velasco would like to expand the program in the future to do that. That could give beach goers an idea of just how high bacteria levels increase and also so people would know when it would be safe to go back into the ocean.
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