Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) & County of Kauaʻi Request Pollutant Discharge Permit to Allow West Kauaʻi Pollutant Discharges

For decades, ADC and the County have discharged polluted water from the Mānā Plain Drainage Ditch System into the ocean from 7 outfalls spanning the entire West Kauaʻi shoreline (from Kīkīaola Harbor to Barking Sands). The outfalls are located along beaches that are popular for surfing, swimming, diving, fishing, limu gathering, and other cultural, recreational, and subsistence activities

• The 7 outfalls are: Kīkīaola Harbor Drain (operated by the County) and Cox Drain, First Ditch, Second Ditch, Dry Ditch, Kawai‘ele Outfall/Kinikini Ditch, and Nohili Drain (all operated by ADC)

The ditches collect and discharge pollution from agricultural, livestock, and shrimp farm operations, the Waimea wastewater treatment plant, the Kekaha landfill, the military base, and various industrial operations, including the gravel and asphalt plant. Studies show that the discharged waters contain pollutants that pose risk to public health and the environment including: pesticides, petroleum products, diesel, sediment, nutrients, and bacteria. These discharges can smother and kill the reef ecosystems, cause algae blooms, and contaminate the ocean waters. 

ADC’s discharge waters mix with the shrimp farm’s before entering the ocean and have contributed to massive fish kills in and around Kinikini Ditch 

View permit docs here

Call to Action: Urge the Department of Health (DOH) to require stronger permit terms to protect human health & the environment

Email written comments to DOH cleanwaterbranch@doh.hawaii.gov  by 4:30 p.m. on Friday, November 29, 2024!

*Include your name, address (city/state), and email address in your comments

Written Talking Points:

• Explain how you use the ocean waters from Kīkīaola Harbor to Barking Sands (e.g., for surfing, fishing, swimming) and how pollution from the ditches has affected your use and enjoyment of these waters
• Demand a public hearing to allow public participation and transparency in the decision-making process and to ensure that stronger permit requirements are incorporated to protect human health and the environment
• Require ADC and the County to minimize the amount of polluted water it discharges
• Require ADC and the County to clean up the polluted ditch waters before discharging them into the ocean by constructing wetlands and applying UV filtration and erosion control measures
• Require testing for harmful contaminants (such as pesticides, petroleum products, and vibrio bacteria) that have been confirmed to be present in the discharged waters
• Consolidate the Shrimp Farm’s and ADC’s permits and require protocols to prevent further fish kills to ensure coordination and accountability for their combined pollution in Kinikini Ditch