Surfrider Foundation has just released itʻs national Clean Water Report, showcasing the achievements of our clean water programs, case studies of Surfrider chapterʻs utilizing these programs to solve local water pollution problems, and America’s beach bacteria hot spots. Two of Hawaiʻis beaches, Kahaluʻu (Oʻahu) and Koloa Landing (Kauaʻi) landed on this list because they failed to meet safe water quality standards nearly every time they were tested last year — with 92% and 90% high bacteria rates, respectively.

Surfriderʻs Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) monitoring program is the nation’s largest volunteer-run beach water testing program, with 60 chapter-led labs processing over 10,000 samples annually from more than 600 locations. The BWTF program samples for enterococcus, a fecal indicator bacteria, which indicates the presence of human or animal waste in the water. Elevated levels of enterococcus increase the likelihood that other pathogens that can make people sick may be present. The data collected by our BWTF volunteers is used to issue swim advisories and assessed against the recreational health standards provided by the Hawaii Department of Health.

Link to 2024 Hawaiʻi Water Quality Report

In Hawaiʻi, the goal of the Blue Water Task Force program is to fill in the gaps in the Hawaiʻi Department of Health (HDOH) BEACH monitoring program. HDOH receives federal funding to test a limited number of beaches on each island, primarily those with lifeguards and popular tourist areas. Currently, HDOH only tests 57 beaches (classified as Tier 1 priority) on a regular weekly basis statewide. Surfrider, however, covers a variety of locations popular with local families and recreational users, including surf spots. In 2024, Surfrider volunteers processed 1,079 water samples collected at 83 beaches and sampling sites throughout the islands of Kauaʻi (18), Maui (39), and Oʻahu (26). 

As covered in Surfrider Hawaii’s annual water quality report, seven sites on Oʻahu and eight sites on Kauaʻi had over 50% of their samples exceed state health standards. On Kauaʻi, three BWTF sites located at stream or river mouths (Hanalei River at Weke Rd., Hanamāʻulu Stream Mouth, and Nāwiliwili Stream) failed every single water test performed in 2024. Similarly, on Oʻahu, the highest bacteria sites are located adjacent to stream mouths. The Chings (Punaluʻu Beach Park) sampling site, near Punaluʻu Stream on East Oʻahu, failed every water quality sample, and Kahaluʻu Beach failed 92% of samples. In our second year of sampling in Waiʻanae with Kingdom Pathways, one of the sites, Kaupuni Stream, is yet again exceeding state health standards consistently, with 80% of samples having failed.

Cesspool Pollution

Hawaiʻiʻs 83,000 cesspools are one of the biggest threats to water quality state wide, discharging 52 million gallons a day of sewage into coastal waters. 14 out of the 15 sites on Kauaʻi and Oʻahu which exceeded recreational health standards over 50% of samples in 2024 are located in Priority 1 and 2 cesspool areas (link to Hawaiʻi Cesspool Prioritization Tool). This designation indicates that the cesspools in these areas pose significant hazard to human health and the environment. The chronic pollution documented at these sites by the BWTF, as well as the findings of the Kauaʻi sucralose stream study, also indicate the potential impact of sewage pollution.

Informing Safe Recreation

At Surfrider, we believe everyone deserves access to clean water to recreate in, and our chapters are working hard to inform their communities of local water quality issues and provide the critical water quality information they need to make informed decisions to protect their health and families. 

In 2024, we have also had some success improving public signage and informing safe recreation at local beaches, so people are aware of the risks when recreating at chronically polluted beaches and during Brown Water Advisories (BWAs). On Kauaʻi, Nāwiliwili Stream at Kalapakī Bay has failed every water test performed since 2016. Stream mouths such as this one provide shallow, safe water free of shorebreak and currents — making it ideal for the children and families that are often seen wading and playing in these areas, completely unaware of the polluted conditions. After nearly a decade of working to place permanent warning signs for high bacteria, the Kauaʻi Chapter was finally able to post a warning sign in 2024. The Kauaʻi Chapter also has permanent water quality signs at Hanamāʻulu, Moloaʻa, Nāwiliwili, and is working on a fourth at Koloa Landing. 

Surfrider’s Maui Chapter also reached an agreement with Maui County Ocean Safety Bureau to provide BWA signs to lifeguards to warn beachgoers of polluted conditions on the beach after it rains. Previously, BWAs were only posted online or on TV/radio. Surfrider was also pleased when the HDOH agreed to revise their beach monitoring program to continue to test popular Tier 1 beaches when Brown Water Advisories are in effect, thereby providing better water quality information to the public during both dry and wet weather.

This past year has been marked by more cooperation between the State Department of Health and the Blue Water Task Force programs in Hawai`i. In 2024, the Maui Chapter was also able to pivot and launch their Post Fires Water Quality Monitoring Program to generate critical data that was used to reassure people that it was safe to get back into the water at many locations along the West Side of Maui. 

Federal Funding Cuts Impact Hawaiʻi Water Quality Monitoring

Unfortunately, the President's budget proposal for next year (FY2026) potentially eliminates all funding for the EPA's BEACH Act Grants program that supports beach water quality monitoring and public notification programs in 35 coastal states and territories, including Hawaii — which could leave families completely blind to pollution issues at our local beaches. 

Surfrider is calling on Congress to reject the Trump administration's proposal to slash funding for the EPA and support robust funding for the BEACH Act and other clean water programs. Everyone deserves to enjoy a fun day at the beach without worrying about getting sick from exposure to pollution.