Heavy rains caused an estimated 400,000-gallon sewage spill at the Papaikou Wastewater Treatment Plant this morning.
According to a notice from the County of Hawaii Wastewater Division, high rainfall over the last few days overflowed a diversion box at the wastewater plant overnight.
That overflow led to partially treated wastewater spilling onto the ground and into a drainage channel, where it eventually flowed to the ocean near Waipahi Point.
An operator at the treatment plant noticed the spill when arriving at his shift at 8 a.m. this morning, and was able to stop the spill shortly thereafter. However, an estimated 400,000 gallons of wastewater had been spilled by that point.
The public is advised to stay out of the coastal waters along Kekiwi Point to Waipahi Point and further north to avoid health hazards associated with the spill. Those waters are all under an ongoing high surf advisory as well.