A recent article published by Civil Beat highlighted an issue we have been warning about for years at Hilo Wastewater. Although the article was necessary to bring attention to this issue, it did not accurately portray the hard work and dedication of our members serving their communities at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant. Despite facing numerous challenges, these workers go above and beyond their call of duty to provide essential services and are committed to ensuring that the facilities they serve function smoothly.
Unfortunately, the Wastewater Division is currently facing a shortage of skilled manpower due to issues with recruitment and retention. This is mainly due to the employer’s continued failure to fill vacancies and respond to concerns about faulty equipment and hazardous working conditions. As a result, our members at Hilo Wastewater are overwhelmed and overworked. Given the limited resources available, we want to assure the public that these experienced, highly trained workers are doing their best under the circumstances.
United Public Workers stands firm in our commitment to our community. We vehemently oppose the recent statement made by Hawaii County Director of Environmental Management, Ramzi Mansour. His assertion that our employees lack the necessary training to maintain the treatment facilities is completely false. Our members undergo rigorous training to upkeep these aging facilities and work tirelessly to provide an essential service to our communities. We believe that our members are unjustly being held responsible for the poor condition of the treatment plant. Instead of taking accountability, Mr. Mansour is shifting the blame onto our members for the lack of repairs.
We deeply appreciate the efforts of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Hawaii County to reach an agreement to correct the longstanding problems with aging wastewater treatment plants on the Big Island. We fully support the administrative consent decree that sets strict timelines for the county to repair treatment plants in Hilo, Kulaimano, Papaikou, and Kealakehe.
Our union and its members are acutely aware of the host of problems at Hilo Wastewater. We’ve advocated for the county to intervene for over a decade, including replacing the severely corroded grit screening tank. We are also aware of and have been documenting the problems at the Kulaimano plant in Pepeekeo, where the sludge dewatering centrifuge equipment has been inoperable since at least 2016, according to the order.
Our members are eager to collaborate with the county to ensure the necessary repairs are carried out and that all other aspects of the consent order are successfully met.
