Miloliʻi, on Hawaiʻi island’s leeward coast, is renowned for its dedication to traditional fishing practices, but the rural village has no municipal sewer system, leaving the 500 residents in and around that area to rely mostly on cesspools they can’t afford to replace. “Most of my ʻohana, my family, we’ve been there for many generations,” Miloliʻi native Kaimi Kaupiko said. Typically, it costs tens of thousands of dollars to convert a cesspool to septic or some other treatment system. “We don’t have those types of funds,” Kaimi said, “to upgrade systems or find a better solution.”

Spotlight Now: Hawaii County mayor, cesspool-to-sewer conversions

Today on the program, we're taking stock of the state's progress toward converting all cesspools by 2050. Of the roughly 88,000 cesspools in the state, more than half are located on Hawaiʻi Island. Hawaiʻi Island will be our focus today. Our panel includes:

• Hawaiʻi County Mayor Kimo Alameda

• Stuart Coleman, executive director of Wastewater Alternatives & Innovations

• Greg Asner, director of Arizona State University Center for Global Discovery and Conservation Science

Ola i ka Wai, Water is life in Hawaiʻi. But what happens after we use it matters just as much. This clip from KHON2’s Empowered Hawaiʻi: Rethinking Water episode spotlights Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations and Executive Director Stuart Coleman, sharing how smarter wastewater solutions can turn pollution into a resource and protect our reefs, groundwater, and communities.

Government leaders including Gov. Josh Green and House Speaker Nadine Nakamura have made cesspool conversions a top priority of the state. Officials say they are creating a cesspool conversion implementation group to find solutions, but the Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is working to come up with a clear strategic plan.

Hawaii Business Magazine, February 5, 2026

A pilot project will use treated wastewater to create a green belt, protecting fire-prone Mā‘alaea and restoring coastal waters.

Hawaii Business Magazine, September 3, 2024

WAI is prominently featured in the video, showcasing a cesspool conversion that was filmed using an innovative technology WAI helped bring to Hawaiʻi and secure approval for.

Associated Press, July 5, 2023

Stuart Coleman explains how to reverse the damage from the state’s 83,000 cesspools, including using treated wastewater for irrigation and landscaping.

Hawai'i Business Magazine, September 25, 2023

Kate Furby, writes a short biography on Stuart Coleman and his leadership Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations and what inspired him to get into this dirty issue.

Ka Pili Kai, January 2023

Stuart Coleman, Executive Director of WAI reports on the where Hawai'i stands in the cesspool crisis. He highlights an opportunity to become a national leader in new sanitation technologies and policies.

Civil Beat, September 2022

Stuart Coleman reports on the where Hawaii stands in the cesspool crisis. Within this article he highlights the future opportunities for Hawai'i in becoming a national leader in new sanitation technologies and policies relating to wastewater management.

National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association: NOWRA The Onsite Journal

Executive Director, Stuart Coleman, reports on the state of Hawai’i’s cesspool crisis. He highlights an opportunity for the state to become a national leader in new sanitation technologies and policies, emphasizing why change needs to happen sooner rather than later.

Star Advertiser, April 2022

Listen to this talk story with WAI Executive Director Stuart Coleman and Christina Laney Mitre of Smart Living Hawaii Foundation, a sustainability hub for Hawai'i. In this podcast, they go over cesspools & failing septic tanks and how they harm our drinking water, oceans, and environment.

Smart Living Hawai'i, October 2021

Ulupono Initiative reports on WAI’s Second Annual Innovations in Sanitation Convening which was held in August 2021 to bring together key stakeholders, technology innovators, and wastewater experts to discuss the problems and possible solutions for the conversion of Hawai'i’s 88,000 cesspools.

Ulupono Initiative, September 2021

Star Advertiser reported on Hawai'i’s 88,000 cesspools across the state and the mandate that requires cesspools to be upgraded, converted, or connected to a sewer connection by 2050. The article explains the benefits that cesspool conversions has on human and environmental health, alternatives to cesspools like incineration toilets, and also outlines the financial challenges that homeowners face when converting.

Star Advertiser, August 2021

In this article, Star Advertiser talks with WAI’s Executive Director Stuart Coleman about the 2nd Annual Innovations in Sanitation Convening. The Convening, held in mid-August in person & virtually, covered regulation reforms, financial assistance for conversions, policy recommendations, and presentations from our technology partners.

Star Advertiser, August 2021

WAI’s Executive Director Stuart Coleman joined HPR’s Catherine Cruz on The Conversation to talk about WAI’s focus on bringing high tech solutions to help with sewage pollution across the state. Listen to or read the article to hear about more about Hawai'i’s sewage pollution and what WAI is working on in wastewater technologies.

Honolulu Public Radio, July 2021

In this follow up article to Stuart’s last Civil beat article he discusses where Hawaii wastewater is headed in the future and how local and federal government needs to be involved with making large and small scale changes.

“With the federal government’s commitment to rebuilding our decaying infrastructure, now is the time to develop mobile, community-scale sanitation systems that recycle the valuable resources and nutrients in our liquid and solid waste. Instead of pumping nutrients like nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium out to sea, we can recycle them on land to enrich our soils (instead of expensive, synthetic fertilizers).”

Civil Beat, June 2021

In this interview with WAI’s Executive Director Stuart Coleman, Dan Amato from Surfrider Foundation’s Blue Water Task force, and DLNR’s Emma Yeun talking about “How we can improve our nearshore waters.” Watch the live recording to learn more about how the problem of wastewater in Hawai'i is a multifaceted problem that is requiring input from many diverse groups.

Honolulu Civil Beat Interview, June 2021

“In this case study partnership with the Reef Resilience Network, the WAI team outlines the cesspool problem in Hawai'i and lists potential solutions including policy changes, innovative technologies, and the Work-4-Water initiative.”

Reef Resilience Network, April 2021