Hawaii ponders what to do about leaking cesspools

Transcript

PETER HACKSTEDDE: I've had that problem before where I have had to go up to the doctors and take antibiotics but that is part of the deal during the summer time. The rule of thumb is if you cut yourself in the ocean, you don't go back to the ocean.

SARA VUI-TALITU: So you don't seem too concerned then about the cesspools at the moment?

PH:  Oh yeah if you think about it  of course we are I mean this is a serious problem. We have got to get it fixed but nothing happens fast in Hawaii it just takes forever. We have been working on this thing for 4 years now as everyone is pretty laid back in Hawaii and nothing is in a big hurry but it is wrecking the reef and everything else. It seems like well people are worried about the fish depleting on the reef and stuff like that but there's nothing really we can do about that until we get the sewage treatment fixed up. We are trying to make this an area where we can limit the fishing and stuff like that but the Hawaiians aren't for that, they said why don't you get the shit off the reef first as we are pooping on the reef and then maybe we can talk about the fish. There is a lot of things down line that can be fixed once we get the sewage plant down here, but then we can start tackling other problems about the reef like how to clean it up its a domino effect. And then we can approach these fishermen and say hey look why don't we leave this out and go back to the old Hawaiian fishing type rules the kupunas used to put out and let it sit for a while and rebuild and replenish. Those are the types of things we have to look at so we gotta do our thing first. We can't ask them not to fish here but keep pooping on the reef. That is my big thing is that here we are trying to clean up so how about you do your thing.

SV: Has there been much of a response by the Department of Health in Hawaii?

PH: Well noone has any money. It is going to cost millions of bucks. The people are all for it but there are some people who just can't afford it. You are going from paying nothing to a new bill of about US$150 a month to pay for the sewage treatment plant. So it is an extra thing so we do have to convince em. And then we set up other programmes to help those who can't afford it. It will get done, but it just takes time.