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Rainfall on Kauaʻi's watershed areas recharges the island's underground aquifers, which serve as the primary source of drinking water. The Kauaʻi Dept. of Water pumps water from deep wells that tap into these aquifers and distributes it to homes and businesses through a network of water mains. The Department oversees 9 public water systems across the island that serve the community. Homes not connected to the municipal water system rely on rainwater catchment systems, or private groundwater wells, to collect and supply water for household use.
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Untreated wastewater from within the Waimea area of Kauaʻi is conveyed through sewer mains to the Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant, where it undergoes tertiary treatment utilizing a moving bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) treatment process and UV disinfection. This facility produces R-1 effluent.
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All wastewater received at Waimea Wastewater Treatment Plant undergoes tertiary treatment & UV disinfection before disposal or reuse. The treated effluent is then discharged into underground injection control (UIC) wells or reused (R-1) for agricultural or landscape irrigation.
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Treated wastewater injected into UIC wells flow through groundwater 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).
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Kaua‘i's Drinking Water Sources
Kauaʻi relies primarily on underground water sources for drinking water, which are all dependent on a combination of natural factors: northeast trades, high mountain ranges, and the island’s geological landscape. The NE tradewinds drive clouds filled with moisture inland, mountain ranges like Mount Waiʻaleʻale & Kawaikni capture and force moisture-filled clouds to higher elevations which result in rainfall on watershed areas. Kauaʻi’s volcanic landscape serves as a natural filter and underground storage system of water. Rainwater percolates into the earth, naturally filtered by porous volcanic rock, and stored in aquifers. The aquifers are an underground freshwater reservoir storage from which Kauaʻi’s Department of Water Supply sources water to deliver to homes. Water is pumped from a network of shafts, water tunnels, and many wells, then conveyed to homes through mains, booster systems and reservoirs.
- Waimea WWTP Sewage Map
Do You Know What Happens After You Flush?
