The Hawai‘i Department of Health (DOH) is issuing Guidance for Existing Cesspool Use in Residential Kula, Maui. It was developed in an effort to support Kula residents affected by the wildfires, working to rebuild and reoccupy their homes.

This guidance follows a similar framework as the guidance for the Wahikuli Houselots Subdivision in Lahaina, but with significant differences due to the fact that neither the County of Maui nor private wastewater collection systems have plans for building wastewater treatment works for the Kula area.

The significant differences are:

• Cesspools must have a lining that is certified to be structurally sound by a Hawai‘i licensed civil engineer.
• The rebuilt dwelling’s quantity of bedrooms may not exceed the quantity of bedrooms of the previous dwelling on the County of Maui record.
• The rebuilt dwelling may not have more than five bedrooms, even if the previous dwelling had more than five bedrooms, in accordance with Hawai‘i Administrative Rules, Chapter 11-62.

The County of Maui has been coordinating with the DOH in the development and implementation of this guidance, which allows wildfire-impacted homeowners to rebuild and reoccupy homes while ensuring the integrity of existing cesspools and without creating new cesspools.