The Nov. 19 issue of West Hawaii Today reported some residents of a Kona subdivision are objecting to sewer hook-up fees estimated at $19,000 in combined county plus contractor fees, plus monthly bills after connection. The Nov. 8 issue reported
The Nov. 19 issue of West Hawaii Today reported some residents of a Kona subdivision are objecting to sewer hook-up fees estimated at $19,000 in combined county plus contractor fees, plus monthly bills after connection. The Nov. 8 issue reported the county is having trouble collecting those bills, but is unable to suspend sewer service to delinquent customers. Previous articles and letters have reported widespread resistance to a proposed state policy that would require all property owners on cesspool to convert to septic upon sale of their properties.
One would hope that our state and county public servants are noticing all this discontent and asking themselves what is the problem? We can also hope they are akamai enough to realize the problem is the fees are unfair, because they level disproportionate taxes on a portion of the population to provide a service that benefits the entire population. Do the residents of Lono Kona benefit more than the residents of my subdivision when they are hooked up to the sewer system? No – every person in this state and county benefits from protecting the nearshore waters in which we swim, play and work, and which drive the economy of this state. Shutting off sewer service to the “customers” of this service is not an option, because that action would penalize all of us.
Recognizing proper management of the sewage from any property benefits all residents. Why would the county (in the case of sewers) or the state (in case of septic conversion mandates) require some citizens to pay fees of $15,000 to $20,000 or more, plus continuing bills, and require other residents to pay nothing? Most likely it is because when any government entity proposes to tax all of us, there is enough resistance from the taxpayers to make the proposal politically untenable. But when they apply taxes to a small minority at a time, the political resistance of those few affected can usually be overcome. This strategy makes sense, and appears to work, but is essentially unjust.
Many citizens reject new or higher taxes because of a perception government is wasteful and inefficient. That perception is strongly rooted in reality and is well supported by repeated sewage spills on Oahu, Maui and in Hilo, not to mention the hole-in-the-ground disposal of sewage in Kona. These injections of concentrated waste can be far more damaging than the multiple point source discharges from cesspools spread out across the island. However, doing nothing is not an option when coral reefs are dying and swimmers get infections of flesh-eating bacteria that are potentially fatal. Private enterprise can work very efficiently when there is a profit motive that coincides well with any desired goal. Indeed most large resorts do an excellent job of treating their own sewage. However, for the rest of us, the only viable option is government action to accomplish the goal fairly and effectively.
This means we, the citizens, need to demand that the state or the counties institute a tax that is affordable and applies to all residents (and ideally to visitors as well). Alternatively, existing tax rates could be raised for this purpose. The proceeds of this tax need to go into a fund that is protected from being raided for any purpose other than waste treatment, and these funds need to be spent starting where the need is greatest, which would normally be at the shoreline, and moving mauka from there. We need to demand greater attention to this problem and better performance than we have seen in the past. We need to demand the highest level of sewage treatment, including nutrient stripping. Currently our sewage treatment (where it exists) destroys pathogens that could cause human health problems, but does not remove the nitrogen and phosphorus that fertilize the growth of algae that smothers coral reefs.
Pooling our resources and working together for a common good is not socialism or tyranny. It is civilization. However much we enjoy the rural nature of this island, it is time for all of us to admit the population has grown to the point we need to get civilized and stop swimming in our own sewage. Requiring some people to pay substantial sums to relieve us of that pleasure while the rest of us get off scot free and continue to poop in a hole in the ground is not the answer. Elected officials avoid both the “S” word and the “T” word like a plague, but sewage and taxes go hand in hand, and it is time for them to step up to the plate and propose an equitable solution, and for us the taxpayers to accept that clean water comes at a cost we all need to share.
Doug Perrine is a Kailua-Kona resident.
Viewpoint articles are the opinion of the writer and not necessarily the opinion of West Hawaii Today.
