Report on Water Quality Crisis at Hawaiʻi Ocean Science and Technology Park and its Conflict with Sustainable Development Goals

1.0 Executive Summary

State officials in Hawaiʻi are scheduled to meet with tenants of the Hawaiʻi Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park to address a persistent water quality crisis that has been ongoing since 2021. The Natural Energy Laboratory of Hawaiʻi Authority (NELHA), the state entity responsible for supplying ocean water to the park’s aquaculture tenants, is facing a lawsuit over its failure to provide water of sufficient quality. This failure has resulted in diminished larval survival rates for marine species, causing significant economic damage and directly undermining several United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly those related to marine ecosystems, economic growth, and sustainable infrastructure.

2.0 Impact on Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The water quality issue at HOST Park presents a significant challenge to the achievement of multiple SDGs:

• SDG 14: Life Below Water: The core of the crisis is the negative impact on marine life. The low survival rates of larval seafood directly threaten the sustainable use of marine resources and the viability of aquaculture, a key strategy for conserving marine biodiversity and providing sustainable food sources.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: Tenants, including Blue Ocean Mariculture, have suffered millions of dollars in lost revenue. This jeopardizes the economic sustainability of these enterprises, threatening local jobs and hindering progress towards inclusive and sustainable economic growth.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: HOST Park is intended as a hub for innovation. The failure of its fundamental water delivery infrastructure highlights a lack of resilience and reliability, impeding the industry’s progress and its contribution to sustainable industrialization.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: While focused on seawater, the principle of ensuring access to clean, uncontaminated water is central. The alleged contamination by biofouling represents a failure in water quality management, violating the tenants’ contractual right to “pristine” seawater.
• SDG 12: Responsible Consumption and Production: The disruption to aquaculture operations limits the production of sustainably farmed seafood, impacting responsible production patterns and the availability of sustainable food choices for consumers.
• SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals: The pending lawsuit signifies a breakdown in the partnership between a state authority and private enterprises. The formation of the Keahole Point Larval Group and the upcoming meeting are crucial steps toward re-establishing the collaborative partnerships necessary to achieve sustainable development.

3.0 Problem Analysis and Current Actions

The central problem is a significant decline in the survival rates of marine larvae cultivated by HOST Park tenants. This issue has been traced to the quality of the ocean water supplied by NELHA through its pipeline system.

3.1 Suspected Cause

An expert report commissioned by NELHA, conducted by aquaculture specialist Jim Wyban, suggests the issue is not likely caused by external pollution. The probable cause is identified as biofouling—the accumulation of bacteria and other unwanted organisms within the water delivery pipes, which introduces toxicity harmful to sensitive larvae.

3.2 Mitigation Efforts

In response to the crisis and expert recommendations, NELHA has initiated several actions:

1. Comprehensive Water Testing: NELHA is conducting tests to measure dissolved gases, metals, pesticides, herbicides, and petroleum hydrocarbons to fully characterize the water quality.
2. Toxicity Source Identification: Water samples are being collected from multiple points, including intake pipes and the open ocean, for toxicity tests aimed at pinpointing the exact source of the contamination impacting larval survival.

Despite these efforts, stakeholders report that the problem has not been fully resolved, and the negative impacts on aquaculture operations continue.

4.0 Legal and Financial Ramifications

The ongoing failure to resolve the water quality issue has led to significant legal and financial consequences, further impeding progress toward SDG 8 and SDG 14.

4.1 Lawsuit Against the State

In May, Keahole Point Hatcheries (operating as Blue Ocean Mariculture) filed a lawsuit against NELHA and other state agencies. The complaint alleges:

• Breach of Contract: The state failed to uphold its contractual obligation to provide “pristine” seawater suitable for aquaculture.
• Violation of Environmental Protection: The state is accused of failing in its duty to protect environmental resources under its management.

4.2 Plaintiff’s Demands

The company is seeking the following remedies:

1. Immediate cessation of operations of the affected pipeline until the issue is fully resolved.
2. Financial compensation for damages and significant losses incurred.
3. A formal notice from the Board of Land and Natural Resources compelling NELHA to resolve the water quality issue within 60 days.

5.0 Next Steps

A meeting is scheduled for next week between state officials and the Keahole Point Larval Group, a coalition of affected hatcheries. This meeting represents a critical opportunity to foster collaboration (SDG 17) and find a sustainable solution that restores the viability of the aquaculture industry at HOST Park, thereby realigning operations with the principles of SDG 14 (Life Below Water) and SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth).

SDGs Addressed in the Article

• SDG 14: Life Below Water: The article’s central theme is the quality of ocean water and its impact on marine life, specifically the larvae of oysters, shrimp, and other seafood raised in aquaculture. It discusses the health of marine species and the protection of marine resources.
• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure: The issue stems from the infrastructure of the Hawaiʻi Ocean Science and Technology (HOST) Park, particularly the water delivery pipelines. The park itself is a hub for industrial and innovative aquaculture, and the failure of its infrastructure is the core problem.
• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth: The water quality problems have led to significant economic consequences, including “millions of dollars in lost revenue” and “significant financial losses” for the tenant companies, thereby affecting local economic growth and the viability of these businesses.
• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation: Although typically focused on freshwater, this goal’s principle of ensuring water quality is relevant. The article is about providing “pristine” seawater, the contamination of water (suspected biofouling), and the need for testing to “more fully understand and characterize the quality of our surface and deep seawater.”

Specific SDG Targets Identified

• SDG 14: Life Below Water

  • Target 14.1: By 2025, prevent and significantly reduce marine pollution of all kinds. The article directly addresses this by discussing water quality issues suspected to be from “biofouling, or the growth of unwanted species — and bacteria — in the pipes.” NELHA is also testing for pollutants like “metals, pesticides, herbicides and petroleum hydrocarbons.”
  • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems. The lawsuit filed by Blue Ocean Mariculture claims the state is “violating its obligation to protect environmental sources” by failing to provide the “pristine” seawater necessary for their operations, which rely on a healthy marine environment.
  • Target 14.7: By 2030, increase the economic benefits to Small Island Developing States… from the sustainable use of marine resources, including through sustainable management of… aquaculture. The article highlights how financial losses are negatively impacting aquaculture businesses in Hawaiʻi, directly contradicting the goal of increasing economic benefits from these activities.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  • Target 9.1: Develop quality, reliable, sustainable and resilient infrastructure… to support economic development. The problem with the “HOST Park pipeline” demonstrates a failure of infrastructure to be reliable and of sufficient quality, which has directly hindered the economic activities of the tenants it is meant to support.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • Target 8.2: Achieve higher levels of economic productivity through… innovation. The aquaculture companies at HOST Park represent an innovative industry. However, their productivity is “dramatically impacted” by the water quality issues, as stated by Blue Ocean Mariculture, preventing them from achieving higher productivity levels.

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  • Target 6.3: By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution. The entire conflict revolves around improving the quality of the seawater delivered to tenants. The efforts by NELHA to conduct “toxicity tests” and test for various contaminants are direct actions aimed at understanding and eventually improving water quality, aligning with this target.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

• SDG 14: Life Below Water

  • Larval Survival Rates: The article explicitly mentions “lower survival rates for larvae” as the primary consequence of the poor water quality. This serves as a direct biological indicator of the health of the marine environment provided to the hatcheries.
  • Concentration of Pollutants: The tests for “dissolved gas, metals, pesticides, herbicides and petroleum hydrocarbons” provide measurable indicators of water pollution.
  • Economic Revenue from Aquaculture: The “millions of dollars in lost revenue” is a quantifiable economic indicator linked to the sustainable use of marine resources.

• SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

  • Infrastructure Reliability: The ongoing “persistent water quality problems” and the need to “stop operations of the impacted HOST Park pipeline” are qualitative indicators of the infrastructure’s lack of reliability and quality. The lawsuit itself serves as an indicator of service failure.

• SDG 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth

  • Scale of Production: The statement that the “scale of production has been dramatically impacted” is a direct indicator of the companies’ economic productivity.
  • Financial Losses: The “significant financial losses” reported by the companies is a direct financial indicator measuring the economic impact of the problem.

• SDG 6: Clean Water and Sanitation

  • Water Quality Test Results: The results from the “toxicity tests” and other analyses conducted by NELHA serve as direct indicators of water quality, which can be tracked over time to measure progress.

Summary of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: hawaiipublicradio.org