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Where does your drinking water come from?
Drinking water is sourced from a mix of surface water and groundwater. The water treatment facilities for West Maui are located above Lahainaluna School and near the Kapalua Airport. Drinking water enters the resident's home to be used for household activities and is then flushed down the toilet or drain.
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Where does your waste water go?
Untreated wastewater is conveyed through sewer mains to the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility, then the water is treated to "tertiary" standards.
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Waste water disinfection & disposal
All effluent (100%) is UV disinfected and the majority (58%) goes to R-1 reuse irrigation, and the minority (42%) discharges as R-1 into injection wells.
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Waste water reaches the pacific ocean
The UV disinfected injected wastewater flows through groundwater toward the Pacific Ocean, where it emerges often through the reef itself, via openings that present as direct pathways from the wastewater treatment plant to the reef, shown with green dye at Kahekili Beach Park in the video below.
See wastewater exiting the reef at Kahekili Beach Maui
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Drinking Water Sources
Interesting Facts about Drinking Water Sources
From County of Maui: "If you live in Upcountry Maui, your water is surface water from the streams in East Maui. It's treated and disinfected at one of our three water treatment facilities (Kamole, Piiholo, Olinda) before it's delivered to your home. Customers in Haiku get their water from the Haiku or Kaupakalua wells and/or the Kamole Weir. Hana and Molokai also use groundwater. Lahaina has a mix of surface water and groundwater. The water treatment facilities for West Maui are located above Lahainaluna School and near the Kapalua Airport.
For Central Maui (Kahului, Wailuku, Waihe'e, Waikapū, Waiehu, Ma'alaea, Kihei, Wailea, Makena, Sprecklesville and Paia) your water is from surface and groundwaters of Na Wai Eha, Maui’s Four Great Waters of West Maui, which includes the ‘Īao Aquifer under the West Maui Mountains. That water is naturally filtered by lava rocks, disinfected, and sent to your home. A small amount of filtered surface water is added to the Central System at the Iao WTF."
The Iao and Waihee aquifer region has been designated by the Commission on Water Resources Management as a “water management area” due to over pumping. This points out that water reuse can alleviate stress on our primary drinking water source for Central & South Maui.
Na Wai Eha, The Four Great Waters of West Maui
- Municipal Disposal Methods
Lahaina municipal wastewater reclamation facility disposal methods
Resident Disposal Methods
52%Disinfected Irrigation Use
48%Disinfected Nearshore Injection Wells
Visitor Disposal Method
100%Disinfected Nearshore Injection Wells
Interested in seeing present and potential future Lahaina wastewater reclamation facility irrigation reuse locations?
- Injection Well Plume
LAHAINA DISINFECTED WASTEWATER INJECTION WELL PLUME
VISUALIZATION OF THE UNDERGROUND DISINFECTED WASTEWATER INJECTION WELL PLUME MOVING THROUGH GROUNDWATER INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN NEAR KAHEKILI BEACH UNDER LAHAINA, HAWAII (Hunt 2009) Do You Know What Happens After You Flush?
- Municipal Disposal Methods
