Report Title:

Kailua Bay, Pollution

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

5

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2002

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH TO conduct A PILOT STUDY OF POLLUTION SOURCES of Kailua Bay and representative areas in West Maui by using advanced DNA techniques to determine sources of pollution and water quality.

 

 

WHEREAS, many bays on the islands of Oahu, Maui, Kauai, and the Big Island are fed by streams emptying from the hills and mountains inland; and

WHEREAS, development, agriculture, human, and animal activity all contribute to siltation and degradation of the ocean environment under these conditions; and

WHEREAS, as an ocean state, many bays are key recreational areas frequented by boaters, swimmers, snorkelers, fishers, and others; and

WHEREAS, many residents of Hawaii consume fish, shellfish, and other marine organisms that are caught or gathered in the bays of the various islands; and

WHEREAS, on Oahu, Kailua Bay has received some attention from the Water Resources Research Center to identify the microbiological content of the waters of the bay and the environmental sources of bacteria and other contaminants of the bay's waters; and

WHEREAS, for example, in 1993, the Water Resources Research Center published two studies of Kailua Bay entitled: "Impact of Kawainui Canal on the Recreational Water Quality of Kailua Bay" and "Microbiological Assessment of Kaelepulu Stream and the Impact of Discharge in Kailua Bay"; and

WHEREAS, these studies sought to learn more about the recreational water quality that may pose possible public health hazards to users of Kailua Bay, and found among other things, that elevated concentrations of indicator bacteria were recovered in Oahu's streams that discharge into Kailua Bay even if they receive no sewage or other wastewater effluents and discharges; and

WHEREAS, for the past decade, the dive sites near Kaanapali and Honokowai on Maui have experienced an algal bloom of Cladophora sericea of abnormal proportions, but investigations have not been able to pinpoint the cause; and

WHEREAS, recent research as reported in the April 14, 2001, issue of the Economist, reveal that advances in forensic science can now use DNA techniques to identify the source of bacteria in water quality tests, in particular by differentiating human and nonhuman source contamination; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2002, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Health is requested to conduct a pilot study of pollution sources of Kailua Bay and representative areas from the west side of Maui by using advanced DNA techniques, to determine sources of pollution and water quality; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Health is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2003; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Health.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________