Kahe Generating Station NPDES Report 1996, Oahu, HI, (NODC Accession 9900012)
Description
The Hawaiian Electric Company Inc. (HECO), under requirements of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit HI0000019, Section C.5, annually conducts and reports results of a monitoring program for waters receiving effluent from the Kahe Generating Station, O'ahu, Hawai'i. This report presents results of monitoring conducted during 1996 for water temperature, sand entrainment, and coral coverage. Replicate coral sampling indicated that significant changes in mean coral coverage occurred only at the station 300 m northeast of the Kahe outfall where significant reductions in the coral coverage have occurred in three of the previous four years since Hurricane Iniki in 1992. However, 1995-96 results indicated significant increases in coverage of the two major component species and in total live coral, the first time this has occurred at this station since Hurricane Iwa in 1982. Over the ten year term from 986 to 1996, this station registered significant reductions in coverage of the two dominant species and in total coral, despite the significant increases in coverage that occurred in 1995-96. The significant decreases in coral cover from 1986 to 1996 were direct effects from Hurricane Iniki, which occurred in September 1992. Results from 1996 monitoring support previous years' conclusions that the Kahe offshore outfall has produced negligible impact on the nearshore coral community and that natural storm disturbances have had greater destructive influence on reef coral coverage throughout the Kahe area. These data are filed at the NODC under NODC Accession # 9900012.