Hawaii has some of the most beautiful and diverse landscapes in the world. The clear, blue water is striking to look at, but the water surrounding Hawaii also has a big problem: cesspools.
A cesspool is essentially a capped hole in the ground used for residential wastewater discharge. Whatever comes from your toilet at home goes into this underground hole and is contained there. Because there is no waste treatment, the waste fosters pathogens, bacteria, and excess nutrients, which can seep out of the cesspool and into the nearby soil. This contaminates ground water that eventually makes its way to the ocean, threatening marine life and human health.
But many people are working to solve this problem. Watch this Seeker Stories video to find out what’s being done to curb the cesspool problem in Hawaii.
