ENCOURAGING HAWAIʻI COUNTY, IN COLLABORATION WITH THE PUAKŌ COMMUNITY, DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, UNIVERSITY OF HAWAIʻI AT HILO, AND OTHER STAKEHOLDERS, TO COMPLETE THE PUAKŌ SEWAGE PROJECT.

HCR33

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

33

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026

STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

encouraging Hawai
ʻ
i
county, in collaboration with the Puakō community, Department of Health,
and other stakeholders, to complete the Puakō Sewage Project
.

����
WHEREAS, the
Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation chant, describes a coral polyp as the origin of
life in Hawai
ʻ
i
through the verse, "Hanau ka
ʻ
Uku-ko
ʻ
ako
ʻ
a, hanau kana, he
ʻ
Ako
ʻ
ako
ʻ
a, puka"; and

����
WHEREAS, coral
is vital to Hawai
ʻ
i,
sustaining Native Hawaiian fisheries, protecting shorelines from storm surge,
supporting the tourism economy, and providing enjoyment for families; and

����
WHEREAS, the
State has approximately eighty thousand cesspools dumping fifty-three million
gallons of untreated sewage into the environment each year; and

����
WHEREAS, in
2017, the Department of Health identified fourteen priority areas where
cesspool upgrades are critically needed to protect public health and the
environment, including Puak
ō;
and

����
WHEREAS,
these cesspools must be upgraded or converted to Director of Health-approved
wastewater systems or connected to sewerage systems by 2050; however, the projected
total cost of doing so is more than $1,500,000,000, and there are no ongoing
financial support programs available to assist homeowners with upgrade,
conversion, or connection; and

����
WHEREAS, wastewater
pollution is contributing to the degradation of Hawai
ʻ
i's ocean resources, including at
Puakō Reef, where live coral cover has declined from seventy percent to seven
percent, approaching the estimated five percent threshold below which reef
systems may be unable to recover; and

����
WHEREAS, the County
of Hawai
ʻ
i has
signed a memorandum of understanding with Puakō for Reefs, a non-profit
organization dedicated to the protection and revitalization of the Puak
ō Reef,
committing to
work on the issue together and establishing monthly meetings with the mayor;
and

����
WHEREAS, within
the census-designated place of Puakō, the State owns more than fifty
percent of the land area, including Wailea State Park, Puakō boat ramp, the
Paniau Beach access area, the planned University of Hawai
ʻ
i at Hilo Puakō
Marine Center, and six vacant residential parcels, all of which require
cesspool upgrade or conversion; and

����
WHEREAS, sewers
are typically built by developers in new subdivisions or by counties during
planned expansions; however, there is no roadmap, model, or identified funding
support for communities like Puakō that need to address existing cesspool
and wastewater issues; and

����
WHEREAS, approximately
thirty-five thousand households in Hawai
ʻ
i
lack reliable access to high-speed Internet, defined by the emerging federal
standard of one hundred megabits per second download and twenty megabits per
second upload; and

����
WHEREAS, lack
of reliable internet access is particularly prominent in rural coastal
communities, agricultural areas, Native Hawaiian homestead lands, and remote
subdivisions, all of which are heavily dependent on cesspools; and

����
WHEREAS, Puakō
community volunteers have worked over the last thirteen years to create a fully
designed solution, build community support, and raise $2,500,000 in community
donations, all without using a single dollar of government funding; and

����
WHEREAS, the
proposed Puakō solution is a generational investment, not a short-term
fix, which includes installation of advanced wastewater collection technology
integrated with fiber-optic infrastructure to support a low-pressure system
that enables remote monitoring to reduce long-term operational costs while
expanding high-speed internet access for community residents; and

����
WHEREAS, recognizing
that Hawai
ʻ
i's
cesspool crisis is too large for any single entity to address alone, the
Puakō Sewage Project leverages collaboration among public, private, philanthropic,
and community partners, using the World Economic Forum's 4P investment model
for social impact projects, to reduce the burden on any single entity and to
create a replicable model that can be used in communities throughout Hawai
ʻ
i; now, therefore,

����
BE IT
RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-third Legislature of the
State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2026, the Senate concurring, that Hawai
ʻ
i County, in
collaboration with the Puakō community, Department of Health, and other
stakeholders, is encouraged to complete the Puakō Sewage Project to:

����
(1)
�
Protect and restore Puakō Reef;

����
(2)
�
Establish a replicable model demonstrating
effective financing strategies, governance structures, technology performance,
public-private partnerships, and cost efficiencies to accelerate cesspool
conversion in similar coastal communities statewide; and

����
(3)
�
Help close the digital divide in rural
communities in Hawai
ʻ
i
with the simultaneous installation of broadband infrastructure; and

����
BE IT FURTHER
RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the
Director of Health, Mayor of the County of Hawai
ʻ
i,
and President of Puak
ō
for Reefs
.

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:
�

Puako
Reef; Sewage Project; County of Hawai
ʻ
i