On the Hawaiian Islands there are about 80,000 cesspools, according to Paul Balberde, co-owner of 2B Environmental.
Most of them are on the Big Island, which Balberde’s company serves. Because cesspools don’t provide significant treatment of waste, the state government is looking to phase them out. But in the meantime, they need maintenance.
“A lot of people who move here from the mainland know what a septic system is because they grew up with septic tanks,” Paul says. “Many don’t know what cesspools are.”
A cesspool is essentially a hole in the ground with a concrete cap.
“When it is first installed, there are all these cracks and crevices where the water can seep into the ground,” Paul says. “Solids build up on the bottom, and so every now and then you maintain it by pumping out the accumulated sludge. Some of these cesspools have never been serviced over 20 or 30 years. All those cracks and crevices get plugged, and now you have a failing system. We clean it up as best we can through chemical treatment with caustic soda, or aeration. Sometimes we have to go in with dynamite to crack the rock again so the wastewater will percolate. It depends on the soil. You might live in an area with porous soil. You might be in a clay soil, or it might be solid rock. It all depends on where on the island it is located.”
How soon will the state see all the cesspools replaced by more effective septic systems?
“I think the goal is 2050,” Paul says. “But it all comes down to money.”
Read more about 2B Environmental in the September 2026 issue of Cleaner magazine.
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