Stop Kƒ´kƒ´aola Ditch Pollution

The Kīkīaola ditch discharges untreated drainage waters contaminated with sediment and pesticides into the nearshore ocean waters at Kīkīaola Harbor during heavy rain events. The Heath Department has designated the nearshore waters around Kīkīaola Harbor as impaired for turbidity, and detected the restricted use pesticides atrazine and metolachlor in the Kīkīaola ditch at levels toxic to aquatic life. Community members catch fish and crab in Kīkīaola Harbor and also surf and swim in the surrounding areas.

In a 2019 victory for the community groups, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawai‘i ruled that discharging pollution to the ocean from a 40-mile drainage ditch system on the Mānā Plain, including one ditch outfall at Kīkīaola Harbor, requires a federal permit under the Clean Water Act, known as a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit. After the ruling, the County took over operation and management of the Kīkīaola ditch from the state Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC). The community groups alerted the County to the court order and the need for an NPDES permit, and the County contacted the state Health Department for guidance on how to begin the permitting process. The Health Department responded that no permit was required, directly contradicting the federal court’s order. ADC has applied for a permit for its portion of the drainage ditch system, but to the Community Groups’ knowledge, the County has not.

To enforce the law and protect these important fishing grounds, Surfrider Foundation Kauaʻi Chapter along with Nā Kia‘i Kai and Pesticide Action Network, represented by Earthjustice, sent a formal notice of intent to sue the County of Kauaʻi and state Health Director for failing to abide by a federal court order requiring a permit to discharge pollution at Kīkīaola Harbor. 

Under the Clean Water Act, the County and Health Director have 60 days to come into compliance with the law, beginning with the County’s application for an NPDES permit and minimization of pollution from Kīkīaola ditch, as well as the Health Director’s commitment to process the application and issue a permit. The federal Clean Water Act requires an NPDES permit to discharge into the nation’s waters as a tool to reduce water pollution.