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Upcountry Maui obtains its drinking water from the streams of East Maui, which is treated at water facilities before being distributed to homes. Central Maui’s water supply is derived from the Nā Wai ʻEhā, Maui’s Four Great Waters of West Maui, as well as the ʻĪao aquifer located beneath the West Maui mountains. These waters undergo natural filtration through lava rocks, are disinfected, then sent to homes for use.
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Untreated wastewater from the Maʻalaea Small Boat Harbor and neighboring commercial establishments are conveyed through sewer mains to the Maʻalaea Small Boat Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant where it undergoes secondary treatment and chlorine disinfection.
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All wastewater received at the Maʻalaea Small Boat Harbor Wastewater Treatment Plant undergoes secondary treatment and chlorine disinfection, then is discharged into seepage pits of leach fields.
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Treated wastewater discharged into seepage pits or leach fields can possibly leach into the groundwater, contaminating it, and flow toward the ocean where it often emerges through openings on the reef, direct pathways from the wastewater treatment plant to the reef. Once introduced, the wastewater can mix with the seawater and potentially affect the health of these reef ecosystems (Lapointe 1997, Sutherland et al. 2010, Redding et al. 2013, Vega Thurber et al. 2014, Prouty et al. 2017).
