WRRC/'Ike Wai Spring Seminar

January 29, 2:00pm - 3:00pm
Mānoa Campus, Zoom Meeting

Sea-Level Rise and Inundation of Infrastructure Including Coastal Cesspools and Wastewater Systems

by Dr. Shellie Habel1 and Dr. Trista McKenzie2

University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program1 and Department of Earth Sciences2

Sea-level rise induced impacts in Hawai‘i are becoming increasingly problematic and observable as infrastructure degradation and failure occurs; this includes onsite sewage disposal systems. This presentation reviews the impacts that outdated and aging wastewater infrastructure will increasingly have on our coastlines and low-lying urban areas as sea level continues to rise. Evidence of such impacts includes groundwater modeling that considers sea-level rise induced lifting of the coastal water table, firsthand accounts of systems exposed by erosion and large storms, and field-based geochemical tracers (e.g., radon, pharmaceuticals) of groundwater discharge and its wastewater content. Overall, it will take a focused and driven effort to keep the deteriorating systems off our beaches and contaminants out of our coastal waters.

Join Zoom Meeting:

https://hawaii.zoom.us/j/98029185048

Meeting ID: 980 2918 5048

Passcode: 967507


Event Sponsor
WRRC, Mānoa Campus

More Information
Michael Mezzacapo, 808-956-3097, mmezz@hawaii.edu

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