Frustration is growing for Kalihi residents from a persistent stench in their neighborhood.
They say raw sewage has been spilling out on their road daily for more than two months. So now the state Department of Health is investigating.
Residents reached out to several agencies but didn’t get any help because this is happening on a private road. So they’re hoping that the state can finally step in and put a stop to it.
Janice Castro has to tip toe along part of Pua Lane twice a day to take her daughter to school and pick her up.
“I’m worried about her because when we always pass by she always tells me, mom it stinks,” Castro said.
Worried that they could get sick from stepping in the sewage, and wondering why it has been going on for so long.
“When we come the water comes by and you can smell it. Sometimes you can smell it through the house,” she said.
The murky water flows down all the way to the end of the block. The Tuppil family has been trying to fix the problem by calling the different city agencies, only to find out that they can’t do anything because this part of Pua Lane is a private road.
“It’s really frustrating for us because we’re the one giving the efforts to get it fixed but up to now we didn’t get any solutions,” said Michael Tuppil.
The constant flow has been skirting their property, forcing them to build a barricade to prevent the sewage from going into their yard. They also had to build a concrete block to prevent it from going into their water line.
They know where the spill is coming from, but they don’t know who owns the sewage line.
Residents say somebody did fix the problem three weeks ago but it’s back. They’re not even sure now if it’s the same line or if it’s another one.
“For a while it was okay then the next day the same thing again. It just keeps going and then we called somebody again. We did everything already so we don’t know,” said Tuppil.
The state health department says it will send a crew there Wednesday morning. They need to find out which sewer line is actually leaking and who owns it. We will let you know what happens.
