As we close out 2024 here in Surfriderʻs Hawai`i network, letʻs take a moment to pause and honor the hard-fought accomplishments of our dedicated chapters on Kaua`i, O`ahu, and Maui to protect our oceans, waves and beaches. From big statewide victories to improve water quality testing during Brown Water Advisories and banning Seabed Mining in Hawai`i to providing critical information regarding ocean safety after Maui wildfires, our chapters made big strides across all our initiatives. Please take time to review some of these accomplishments and feel pride that you are a part of the powerful activist network in Hawai`i.
Regional Staff Report
This year was a big year of staff transition as Lauren Blickley, Hawai`i Regional Manager of 4.5 years, stepped down.Laurenʻs hard work and dedication to the Surfrider mission was instrumental in achieving many of the accomplishments we can celebrate this past year. She helped build community and professional coalitions in recent years to successfully advocate for progress on both water quality and climate resiliency/coastal erosion issues. Mahalo Lauren!
Hanna Lilley, previously Maui Fire Response Coordinator for the Maui Chapter, stepped into the role of Regional Manager in September and has been working closely with each chapter to build the momentum as we gear up to tackle some big coastal issues in 2025.
Super Summit and Coastal Champion Awards
Every five years, Surfrider activists from around the country convene in one giant conference called ʻSuper Summitʻ, to learn, connect, and build stoke. This year, 10 Surfrider Hawai`i chapter leaders from Maui, Kaua`i, and O`ahu and two student club leaders from University of Hawai`i Mānoa, gathered in Long Beach CA along with nearly 500 activists from 200+ chapters and student clubs, plus from Surfrider affiliates around the globe. Beyond the inevitable inspiration of spending three days with some of the nations most powerful ocean and coastal activists and days packed with presentations on skill building and sharing stories, each of Hawai`iʻs three chapters received Coastal Champion Awards for the extraordinary work they are doing:
The Maui chapter won MOST IMPACTFUL CAMPAIGN for their Defend the Clean Water Act & Stop Lahaina Injection Well Pollution
The O`ahu Chapter won the JUSTICE, EQUITY, DIVERSITY & INCLUSION award for their Blue Water Task Force research and expansion to West O`ahu as well as the OCEAN FRIENDLY GARDEN award for their Kaka`ako Ocean Friendly Garden
The Kaua`i Chapter won the OCEAN FRIENDLY RESTAURANT (OFR) award for the whopping 40 Ocean Friendly Restaurants in their OFR program
Improved Water Quality Monitoring and Signage in Hawai`i
2024 was a year marked by cooperation between the Hawai`i Department of Health (HDOH) and Blue Water Task Force programs in Hawai`i. We had three campaigns come to a close including a statewide agreement by HDOH to revise their BEACH monitoring program to test tier 1 beaches when Brown Water Advisories (BWA) are in effect. For years Surfrider has advocated for monitoring during BWAʻs to provide a critical gap in information regarding recreational ocean safety.
Our Maui and Kaua`i chapters also can celebrate victories with respective campaigns to improve signage and notification regarding high bacteria in coastal waters. Maui chapter successfully reached resolution with the Maui County Department of Fire and Public Safety to post BWA signs at lifeguard stands on public beaches to inform the public of immediate water quality concerns.
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The Kaua`i Chapter has been working diligently for over a decade with the State and County to get permission to post warning signs at Nāwiliwiliwi Stream at Kalapakī Bay. Nāwiliwiliwi Stream mouth, tested by the Kaua`i BWTF has consistently exceeded health standards on every single sample since 2016 earning it placement on the national polluted beaches list in Surfriders Clean Water Report.
This year, the Kaua`i chapter finally received permission to post a permanent sign at Nāwiliwili Stream that warns of high bacteria levels and directs people to view the water quality data on the chapter's BWTF site (link to blog).
Maui Post-Fire Water Quality Monitoring
The wildfires on August 8th, 2023 left the Maui community forever changed. There is still a long road to recovery, especially in Lāhainā where thousands of displaced residents still wait to return home to their property to rebuild their homes and lives.
In the months after the fire, growing community concern regarding the safety of the coastal waters around Lāhainā town prompted our initiation of the Maui Post-Fires Coastal Water Quality Program.
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We sampled in January and June for fire related contaminants including Polynuclear Aromatic Hydrocarbons and metals based on feasibility of testing, toxicity to humans and likelihood of suspension in the water. On both sampling occasions we did not find evidence of fire-related contamination that would put human health at risk from recreation in the ocean. Our program prompted HDOH to make a public statement regarding the safety of West Maui nearshore waters as well as to expand their fire related nearshore coastal water quality monitoring program further providing evidence to the safety of the waters for recreation.
Lāhainā Injection Well Pollution Permit
The Maui Chapter has been fighting to hold the County of Maui accountable for wastewater pollution via injection wells of West Mauiʻs reefs for nearly two decades. As a result of that unrelenting pressure going all the way up to a Supreme Court hearing in 2020, Hawai`i Department of Health finally proposed a National Pollutant Discharge Permit and held a public hearing on October 1st. Maui Chapter took a leadership role in activating their local network and Lāhainā community to show up and testify at the hearing to advocate for a stronger permit to defend the reefs, protect our community, and push for maximum re-use of treated water.
Read more about the October 1st public hearing here
O`ahu Chapter leading the way for improved coastal management on North Shore O`ahu
This past year brought a lot of attention to O`ahuʻs North Shore both with the passing of legislation to fund the North Shore Beach Management Plan, a big campaign victory for the O`ahu Chapter, and with the collapse of a private residence into the ocean at “Kammies” (also known as Kammieland).
The property collapse at Kammies was no surprise given its location along a particular hot-spot for severe coastal erosion adjacent to Sunset Beach. The funding awarded to University of Hawai`i Sea Grant program to conduct a North Shore Beach Management Plan will be instrumental in shaping science backed long-term strategies to protect an iconic and imperiled coastline. However, the reality of severe coastal erosion exacerbated by Sea Level Rise poses immediate risk to many oceanfront properties following suit to the recent home collapse which will further jeapordize fragile coastal habitat and public beach access. IN response to the immediate need for action and with the mission of developing strategy to prevent homes from falling into the ocean now, Surfrider O`ahu has pulled together a 2.0 version of the original North Shore Coastal Resilience Working Group. We are in beginning stages of setting framework and goals both on a policy and beach protection level.
West O`ahu BWTF and Research at Pōka`ī Bay
The O’ahu Chapter has helped support the launch of a new BWTF lab at the Waiʻanae High School. Located next to Pōka’ī Bay, along a rural stretch of coastline on the west side of the island, this new lab allows community volunteers and students to process their samples at the local school instead of having to drive them into Honolulu, saving both time and money.
In addition to bi-monthly sampling, the O’ahu BWTF is collaborating with the students and their community partners at Kingdom Pathways to participate in research projects led by the University of Hawaiʻi and the Pacific Islands Ocean Observing System (PacIOOS). These studies are aimed at assessing the inputs of pollution into Pōka’ī Bay during storm events and the fate and transport of those pollutants as they circulate around the Bay and ultimately out into the Pacific Ocean. The resulting data will be applied to determine needed solutions to improve circulation and water quality conditions in Pōka’ī Bay, where many members of the local community have complaints of becoming ill after exposure to polluted water. Participating students and community volunteers are gaining hands-on experience in scientific research and producing data that will be used to improve conditions for their families and community. Learn more about this community partnership in the short video below.
Kaua`i Chapter fight to regulate rampant water pollution in West Kaua`i
For decades Kaua`i Shrimp Farm (now owned by Sunrise Capital, Inc.), Agribusiness Development Corporation (ADC) and Kaua`i County have discharged polluted water from the Mānā Plain Drainage Ditch system into the ocean from seven outfalls spanning the entire West Kaua`i shoreline. The discharged water contains pollutants that pose risk to public health and the environment including: pesticides petroleum products, diesel, sediment, nutrients and bacteria.
As a result of Surfrider Kaua`i previous comments and litigation, this November, Hawai`i Department of Health proposed National Pollutant Discharge Permits for both the Kaua`i Shrimp Farm and ADC. Specifically, the public hearing for the Shrimp Farm proposed permit on November 13 was directly a result of Kaua`i chapterʻs numerous requests to hold a public hearing and the ADC proposed permit and public comment period which closed on November 29 was a result of our settlement reached with DOH and the County in February, 2024.
For both permits the Kaua`i Chapter worked tirelessly alongside Earthjustice and local partners activate the community and call for the permits to be combined and to have stricter limitations that actually safeguard the marine environment and safe ocean recreation on West Kaua`i.
Mahalo to the Hawai`i Surfrider `ohana who's dedication to the protection and enjoyment of Hawai`i's oceans, beaches, and waves made 2024 such an impactful year!