500,000 Gallon Sewage Spill Closes Hawaii’s Waikiki Beach

A massive sewage spill has closed Hawaii’s famous Waikiki Beach.

According to a report by CNN, officials warned beachgoers to stay clear of the water after the heavy rains had forced 500,000 gallons of sewage to flow out of manholes from Atkinson Drive and into the ocean.

Lifeguards had to continuously warn locals and tourists to stay out of the water, but even with the raw sewage spill, people still waded into the waters of the Waikiki Beach.

“Please stay out of the water at least for the next couple of days or until we get the OK to go in,” Shayne Enright, an Emergency Medical Services spokeswoman, said, according to Hawaii News Now. “Don’t take the risk. We don’t know what’s in the water, you could get a serious infection get extremely sick or even worse.”

Although lifeguards and officials attempted to warn everyone about the contaminated water, Peter Parhar, from Vancouver, British Columbia, said more needed to be done to warn the non-English speaking tourists.

“More should be done to inform the beach patrons of the risks of being in the water,” Parhar said. “For the tourist segment that isn’t English-speaking, they have no idea what’s going on and they’re carrying little infants into the water.”

Brown water was first noticed flowing into the ocean from a storm drain near Honolulu Zoo. The escaped water came after people illegally opened the manholes to alleviate flooding from the rain.

“I was coming down to have a swim but I think I might pass now, it doesn’t seem like paradise when you think there could be nasties floating in it,” Desiree Smith said.

Despite the risks, many people still ventured out into the murky water, ignoring the warning signs that were posted along the beach.

“Even if they don’t let me, I’m still going in… that’s a lot of water there, I don’t think a little particle is gonna hurt me,” Adam Rago, a visitor from California, said.

The Waikiki sewage spill has not only affected people wanting to take a swim, it has also caused several businesses to have to temporarily close their doors.

“We have to close early today because we’re not gonna rent anything right now,” said Joshua Kishaba with Hawaiian Oceans. “The summer is usually the busiest time of the year. It’s kinda a bad day for our company.”

[Photo via Shutterstock]