Why hasn’t the state Department of Health figured out that the problem with Kailua Beach could be bacteria flowing into the ocean from Kaelepulu Canal (“Kailua Bay now in the clear, officials say,” Star-Advertiser, May 19)?

As a child in the late 1940s and early ’50s, I played and swam in the canal, unaware of the potential health problems. Even though I enjoyed the safety from the ocean waves I paid a price, as did others, when bacteria in the water caused ear infections and other maladies.

That was before there were any homes “upriver” and the area was a swamp. As Enchanted Lake was built and there was no wastewater treatment available, builders would have installed cesspools to capture the effluent. How many of these still exist and are leaking due to their age and lack of maintenance?

Until someone determines the root of the problem, the bacteria will continue to flow and the beach will be polluted.

Eileen Glaholt

Kaneohe

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