FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 5, 2003

STRAY CAT CAUSES SEWAGE SPILL INTO HONOLULU HARBOR

          A stray cat made its way into the Hart Street sewage pumping station in Iwilei at about 8 p.m. last night and caused a major short circuit in the plant’s electrical system that shut the station down.  This caused an estimated 4.6 million gallons of untreated sewage that would otherwise have been processed by the Sand Island treatment plant to overflow into Honolulu Harbor, Nuuanu Stream and the Kapalama Canal. 

          City crews were alerted by the plant’s automated monitoring system and responded in about an hour, however the damage also affected the transfer circuits, preventing use of the large emergency generator that keeps the plant in operation during commercial power outages.   In the interim, some of the load was diverted to another pump station on River Street and city tanker trucks were brought in to move sewage to the treatment plant.

          The State Department of Health was notified as warning signs were posted and city technicians began monitoring water in the harbor, stream and canal.  

          The pump station serves the area between Salt Lake and Kalihi.  Electrical repairs are estimated to be completed and the plant should be back in operation by 9 a.m. today.

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