The Surfrider Foundation’s mission is to protect and enjoy our ocean, waves and beaches. To meet this goal, all people should be able to recreate safely in the ocean without the risk of getting sick. Surfrider’s Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) volunteer water quality testing program is monitoring water quality at the beach and sharing that information to inform safe recreation in coastal communities.

Surfrider Foundation recently released the national 2025 Clean Water Report to share the findings from the BWTF program - 60 labs processed 10,157 water samples collected from 620 distinct sampling sites in 2025. The report also includes a Beach Bacteria Hotspot list that features sites from across that country where bacteria levels frequently exceed safe swimming standards yet people regularly recreate. This year, three Hawaiʻi sites made the national hotspot list for persistent water quality concerns: Punaluʻu Beach Park (“Chings”) and Hakipuʻu Boat Ramp on Oʻahu, and Moloaʻa Stream Mouth on Kauaʻi.

But what about the rest of Hawaiʻi?

To provide a closer look at water quality across the islands, Surfrider Hawaiʻi is also releasing our 2025 Hawaiʻi Water Quality Report, which compiles BWTF monitoring data from across the state, Hawaiʻi beach bacteria hot spots, and ongoing clean water advocacy efforts.

In Hawaiʻi, Surfrider operates three BWTF labs across Kauaʻi, Maui, and Oʻahu. In 2025, trained volunteers collected 1,138 water samples at 90 sites statewide, helping fill critical gaps in Hawaiʻi Department of Health beach monitoring by testing local beaches, surf breaks, stream mouths, and recreational areas often left unmonitored. Click on the link below to read the report and view data summary tables for each island.

Read the Hawaiʻi Report

In 2025, BWTF data reveals chronic fecal bacteria pollution statewide. There were 24 beaches, or sampling sites, that exceeded recreational health standards for more than 50% of the time, including 14 sites on Kauaʻi, 8 on Oʻahu, and 2 on Maui. The report also describes 4 beaches that made Hawaiʻi’s Beach Bacteria Hot Spot list including the three sites described in the national list and Mala Ramp on Maui.

1 Punaluʻu Beach Park, also known as "Chings", East Oʻahu. In 2025, 100% of samples exceeded recreational health standards for bacteria counts. 

3 Kualoa Stream nearby Hakipuʻu Boat Ramp, East Oʻahu. In 2025, 82% of samples exceeded recreational health standards for bacteria counts.

4 Mala Ramp, West Maui. In 2025, 45% of Mala Ramp samples exceeded recreational health standards for bacterial counts.

4 Moloa'a Stream Mouth, Kauaʻi. In 2025, 100% of samples exceeded recreational health standards for bacteria counts. 

The report highlights the statewide wastewater crisis impacting water quality and public health. In addition to aging, failing, and overburdened sewage infrastructure, Hawaiʻi has the highest number of cesspools per capita in the United States, with approximately 83,000 cesspools statewide discharging untreated sewage into groundwater and coastal waters.

The report further highlights Surfrider’s efforts to address wastewater pollution problems through state legislation aimed at reducing cesspool pollution, advocacy for stronger Clean Water Act wastewater permits, pushing back against harmful “mixing zone” policies, and implementing nature-based solutions through our Ocean Friendly Gardens program. Featured projects include advocacy surrounding the Wailua and Sand Island wastewater treatment plant permits, development of the Lahaina & West Maui Fire-Resilient Landscape Guide, and native forest restoration efforts above Honolua Bay.

Beachgoers are encouraged to check current water quality conditions before entering the ocean, especially following heavy rain events and brown water conditions.

Acknowledgments

None of this work would be possible without the dedication of our BWTF volunteers. Volunteers make this effort possible at every step of the way from the water samplers, to the sample couriers, to the lab volunteers processing and interpreting results, to the volunteers updating the websites and getting results out to the community—this is a complex effort dependent on every single person involved.

We also want to recognize our community partners and satellite BWTF labs that monitor water quality in their own communities. In Waiʻanae, Oʻahu, Carmen Guzman and Joseph Simpliciano of Kingdom Pathways monitor four sites and process samples at the Waiʻanae High School Water Testing Lab alongside Waiʻanae High School students from the Marine Science Learning Center. In Hāna, Maui, Brianna Craig leads BWTF monitoring efforts with Hāna High School, sampling five sites across the Hāna coastline.

1 Kingdom Pathways BWTF training with Waiʻanae High School's Marine Science Learning Center students.

2 Ian Masterson, East Oʻahu BWTF sampler at Hakipuʻu.

3 West Maui BWTF volunteer, Alison Diehl sampling at S turns. 

4 West Maui volunteer, Calvin Cox sampling at Lahaina Harbor. 

5 Kauaʻi BWTF volunteer Ayahna Shea educating the next generation of water quality scientists. 

Please reach out to your local chapter BWTF coordinator listed in the report if you are interested in joining the task force– we are always looking for more volunteers!