What does it take to have sanitary conditions

[Sean]

Can't really comment on the specific location, but I will comment on that it doesn't have to be the turd you see to get you sick. I make a living designing water/wastewater systems because people figured out a long time ago that fecal matter + water + human contact = illness. Pretty simple and definitely not rocket science.

Cheers,

Sean

Movin' in October

[StillHope]

Just wondering if they take water samples often enough..

[ika]

what ever happened to pack in pack out.i hike and kayak all over the island and all ways pack my small toilet with wag bags.not to leave #! #2 behind for others to find.it seems if you can carry coolers,drums,chairs and what ever else you bring to the beach you should be able to bring a crapper and dont forget to take it with you.if its raw land with no toilet no excuse take it with you or maybe try wearing a DIAPER

[missydog1]

LOL, that's not the true hippy attitude. True hippies are one with nature and so is their crap. []
Especially when you get kids raised urban or suburban, delighting in nature, they have no clue. Will never forget my hippy neighbors from the city who washed their diapers out in the stream above the intake for their household drinking water, and were astonished when they got hepatitis. [:0] (that was in Taos, not Puna, but same mindset)

While I agree that malihini shouldn't just come in and say that things that have been for a long time have got to change, I imagine Kehena is changing just due to more population in the area, which means more waste, more impact, more chance of resultant illness.

So to say, let it be as it ever was, is probably unrealistic ... more people, more problems.
Champagne Pond was nice enough four years ago ... sounds less so now.

[Greg]

I agree with you Kathy, except that I don't feel that it's the malihini demanding change. It's the malihini that have swelled the numbers at Puna's coastal spots; and ironically, it's the same malihini that can't understand why things must change.

The people missing from Kehena are the old timers that won't put up with the crowds and filth.

[oink]

How about semi-permanent composting dry crappers on skids. Bring them in on trailers and drop them off. They might escape coastal zone requirments as they aren't actually permanent but nearly so and require no plumbing. All they would need is a modest water tank for hand rinsing and someone to shovel out the compost a few times a year. If it can't be placed with a trailer maybe a crane or helicopter would be and option.

Pua`a
S. FL
Big Islander to be.

[kimo wires]

Composting toilets. That is a good solution. I don't think portable ones would fly but maybe perminent ones like what Volcanoes National Park Has. On Malahini and Change. It's called Progress, and It's inevitable. Look at the prices of Real Estate compared to the rest of The state. The growth will happen as more and more people find out about this place.

[missydog1]

People have known about Puna for a long time, kimowires, but the threat of the lava wiping out your property has deterred many. People have gotten complacent since Kilauea began running lava one fairly dependable direction - forgetting that Kehena beach didn't exist prior to 1955, and that Kapoho village was buried by fountains of lava in 1960.

There's a reason the land is cheaper, and it's more than just having cinder roads and catchment water. People used to build modest homes in Puna, homes that could be written off if need be ... now people build as if the lava is unlikely to be an issue, which I think is shortsighted.

Those who treat the beach as alternative and transient might have it right. Why should the County spend millions on an assessment plan when other beaches not far away no longer exist due to lava flows. Do you realize that the Kalapana area was zoned resort and was going to have development until the lava covered Kalapana beach? Oops.

To Greg -- yes, I see your point. My earlier post about the malihini was just responding to what others said on the topic about how malihini always want to make changes. I personally don't go to Kehena and am not in a position to judge how many of the regulars are newbies. I do know someone from North Kohala who drives all the way down there for the Sunday drumming (a Rastafarian witch (WICCA) who drums).

[ika]

it has nothing to do with malihini,newbies or the gov (county,state&feds) it has to do with us we all live on this planet.i very seldom go to kehena but that does not mean i dont care.it is sort of like how somebody explained the aloha spirit to me.your driving to work in traffic running late and nobody is letting others pull in from sides streets.so you stop and wave some cars thru, know one of those people stop to let some one else pull in.its not about forcing people or getting the gov involved its about doing! random acts of kindness and some times cleaning up messes that you did not make,hoping to spread that aloha feeling

[missydog1]

I'm not saying not to care. I like the idea of portables or composters up on the road, if it could be done. But the original question was about fully functioning restrooms. And also the question comes up of enforcement on the beach because how else can you MAKE people who think it's OK to go in the bushes or the water refrain from doing it?

I think it's clear that people want to be left alone on this beach, and for a lot of people who love this beach, being left alone is more important than having it sanitized. And there would be a major huhu if authorities stepped in to change things. And authorities have already made the call to just let it be.

So there's a situation of inertia, a status quo, and it likely won't change unless something bad happens -- like a nice little typhus outbreak for instance. Something that makes the Health Dept sit up and pay attention.

As for cleaning up other people's messes ... lol, I'll pass on volunteering to scoop people's poop, but if other people want to, go for it!