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Heavy rainfall brought by Hurricane Lane has caused untreated wastewater to discharge into Hilo Bay, the county’s Department of Environmental Management said Friday.
Discharge at the shoreline occurred at the Paukaa and Wailuku sewage pump stations on Hilo Bay, while the spill at the Pua sewage pump station at Puhi Bay in Keaukaha.
According to the county, the pump stations were unable to accommodate abnormally high flows as a result of the rainfall.
All stations are manned to keep the stations operational in order to minimize the volume of the spills.
The total amount of the spills was not immediately known. An initial spill happened at 5:45 a.m. today, but spills are currently ongoing because of the rainfall.