What is the quality of the water discharged into the wells?
The water sent to the injection wells at the County of Maui treatment plants looks no different than your tap water at home. In producing this water, the County of Maui goes beyond the minimum requirements set by state and federal regulators. Our permits require that the water consist of no more than 30 mg/l of Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD5), 30 mg/l Total Suspended Solids (TSS) and 10mg/l of Total Nitrogen. Nevertheless, our plants typically deliver water far cleaner than required. The County of Mauis treatment plants normally produce effluent with less than 5mg/l BOD5 and TSS. Our treatment plants use an aerobic biological process, nutrient removal and filtration. Because the water contains between 4 and 10 mg/l of Total Nitrogen (the regulatory limit is 10mg/l) – the effluent that our treatment facilities produce actually meets federal and state drinking water standards for Total Nitrogen.
