MEDIA
Cesspools Are Killing Hawai‘i’s Coral – But It Doesn’t Have to Be That Way
Hawai’i Business Magazine, September 25, 2023
Stuart Coleman explains how to reverse the damage from the state’s 83,000 cesspools, including using treated wastewater for irrigation and landscaping.
83,000 Hawaii homes dispose of sewage in cesspools. Rising sea levels will make them more of a mess
Associated Press, July 5, 2023
WAI is featured prominently in the video portion, and we helped set up the cesspool conversion that they filmed using an innovative technology that WAI helped get approved in Hawaiʻi.
Making #2 a #1 Priority
Ka Pili Kai, January 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.
A Cautionary Tale for Hawai’i
National Onsite Wastewater Recycling Association: NOWRA The Onsite Journal
Stuart Coleman, reports on the where Hawai’i 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.
A Dirty Cesspool Secret And a Cautionary Tale for Hawai’i
Civil Beat, September 2022
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.
Rare Opportunity To Convert Cesspools
Star Advertiser, April 2022
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.
Keaʻau Veteran Recipient of Donated Wastewater System
Big Island Gazette, November 2021
Big Island Gazette reports on WAI & Vet-Owned Eljen Corporations Veterans Day Giveaway. A veteran in Keaʻau on Hawaiʻi Island was the recipient of the innovative wastewater treatment system that is the first of its kind in Hawaiʻi. WAI believes that this system could be a great option for many Hawaiʻi homeowners to help reduce sewage pollution across Hawaiʻi.
Smart Living Hawaiʻi: Cesspools & Wastewater Management for Clean Water
Smart Living Hawaiʻi, October 2021
Listen to this talk story with WAI Executive Director Stuart Coleman and Christina Laney Mitre of Smart Living Hawaii Foundation, a sustainability hub for Hawaiʻi. In this podcast, they go over cesspools & failing septic tanks and how they harm our drinking water, oceans, and environment.
WAI Second Annual Innovations in Sanitation Convening Focus on Accelerating Cesspool Conversion Statewide
Ulupono Initiative, September 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.
Editorial: Add Alternatives to Dirty Cesspools
Star Advertiser, August 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.
Nonprofit to Hold Meeting on Cesspool Solutions
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.
High Tech Solutions for Cesspool Pollution in Hawai’i
Honolulu Public Radio, July 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.
IDEAS Live: How Can We Improve Our Nearshore Ocean Waters?
Honolulu Civil Beat Interview, 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.
The Work To Convert Hawaii's Cesspools Continues
Civil Beat, June 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).”
Hawaii – Sewage Pollution
Reef Resilience Network, April 2021
“In this case study partnership with the Reef Resilience Network, the WAI team outlines the cesspool problem in Hawaii and lists potential solutions including policy changes, innovative technologies, and the Work-4-Water initiative.”
When the Unmentionable becomes Unavoidable
Sea Grant, March 2021
“With a deep interest in coastal and marine resources, and a recognition of the herculean task of reducing wastewater discharge from cesspools, I [Joachim Schneider] am excited to be spending most of my fellowship working for WAI and helping in their projects to improve the wastewater situation in Hawaiʻi.”
The “Why” of WAI
Omidyar Fellows, February 2021
In this Q&A, Stuart talks through the who, what, when, and where of his journey to WAI, sharing the connection of his deep love of surfing and the ocean to the work he does today, and why he thinks WAI can help make Hawai‘i a leader in new sanitation technologies.
How Hawaii Can Lead In Wastewater Management
Civil Beat, July 2020
In the midst of this crisis, we have an opportunity to diversify our economy and an obligation to create a workforce that is not dependent on the ebb and flow of tourists on our beaches.
Advocates Launch Nonprofit Group to Rid Hawaii of Cesspools
US News, March 2020
Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations plans to help the state address sewage pollution by finding ways to convert cesspools to effective treatment systems,.
53 Million Gallons Of Wastewater Flushes Daily Into Hawaii’s Waters — How One Local Non-Profit Is Working To Fix This
Clean Technica, February 2020
Some cesspool-dense areas are lower-income areas while others are in some high-income areas — some of the nicest neighborhoods on Oahu and Maui, with homes valued at many millions of dollars, are still on cesspools.
Finally Tackling a Crappy Situation
Hawaii Business Magazine, September 2019
Hold your nose if you must but don’t look away if you love the ocean or swim in it. This story is about cesspools in Hawaiʻi, a problem that was kicked down the road for decades but one we are finally dealing with.