Climate change has brought enormous cause for worry about impacts on the environment and property. With all the excess rain on the one extreme and the continual drought on the other, the effects of the resulting floods and wildfires have been etched into the Hawaii consciousness.

There is another related threat to island health: offshore water pollution, largely from land-based runoff. Rainwater events are often followed by “brown-water” advisories from the state, a persistent pattern that has led environmentalists and lawmakers to push for more water testing by health authorities.

These are developments that should sound alarms for everyone who wants to preserve beach-going as a recreational option. Solutions, including more frequent monitoring as well as efforts to mitigate the effects of runoff, must be pursued. These could range from closer attention to preventing development runoff, to better maintenance of rainwater culverts that flow to the sea.

One key prompt for that attention has come from the Surfrider Foundation, a nonprofit environmental organization. The 2023 Hawai‘i Water Quality Report, issued by the foundation and the Blue Water Task Force, noted that water from the mouths of streams, at beaches that have freshwater outlets and bays with little water circulation typically have high bacteria levels.

As a result, numerous Hawaii beaches have chronic pollution problems, some of them longstanding and few showing signs of improvement, according to the report.

The data comprised the work of trained volunteers on the task force who tested water at 65 locations statewide for levels of enterococcus, an indicator of fecal matter.

Last year, half the samples at seven sites on each of Oahu and Kauai exceeded state standards for the presence of enterococci, the task force reported. Oahu’s were Kaupuni Stream, Waiahole Beach Park, the “Chocolates” surf break at Haleiwa Beach Park, Heeia Stream, Hakipuu Boat Ramp, Kuliouou Stream and Kahaluu.

On Kauai, the high levels were at Wainiha Stream Mouth, Hanamaulu Beach, Waikomo Stream at Koloa Landing and Hanalei River at Weke Road, as well as the stream mouths at Nawiliwili, Moloaa and Hanamaulu.

The report’s conclusions point to an excessive number of residential cesspools that remain in the islands, one of the highest rates per capita in the nation. Oahu alone has 11,300 cesspools that discharge 7.5 million gallons of untreated sewage each day, according to the report. Connecting these pollution sources to the wastewater treatment systems is crucial and should remain a high priority.

Further, lawmakers aware of these issues have pressed for passage of Senate Bill 2322, a measure that would require the state Department of Health (DOH) to continue testing water quality during the brown-water advisories. An appropriation would be made, given that health authorities have said it has no budgeted funds for this expansion of its monitoring practices.

A clean-water branch official said that existing data shows fecal organisms will “almost always” exceed standards when the water is brown, and so an advisory warning the public away is made in that case, even without any test.

However, Lauren Blickley, Surfrider’s Hawaii regional manager, said in testimony that DOH should simply maintain its set schedule of monitoring sites to get a clear reading of health risks regardless of water appearance.

“In some cases, the bacteria levels could be extremely high and dangerous, and the public should be aware of that risk,” Blickley said.

Agreed. SB 2322 should cross over to the House for consideration this week. Brown water at our beaches is not a good look, or a healthy environment.