Kauai Council Questions Doubling Loan for Aging Wailua Wastewater Plant

The Kaua'i County Council voted Wednesday to reject a resolution that would have increased a state loan from $14 million to $25.5 million for long-overdue upgrades to the Wailua Wastewater Treatment Plant, a facility built in 1964 that serves east Kaua'i communities including Papaloa, Kapa'a, and Waipouli.

The council's skepticism centers on a cost gap that has widened over more than a decade of delays. Renovations to the Wailua plant were first planned in 2009, but it wasn't until 2024 that the council passed a resolution authorizing a $14 million loan through the State Water Pollution Control Revolving Fund to replace aging equipment and upgrade water filters to meet stricter environmental standards.

When the county posted a bid solicitation for contractors in December 2025, the results landed well above that figure. The lowest of four bid responses, submitted by Maui-based Alpha Inc., came in at $17.4 million, already exceeding the full authorized loan before a single dollar of construction management, compliance costs, or contingency had been factored in.

Fujimoto, who presented the case for the expanded loan to the council, argued that the economy has shifted substantially since the project was first conceived. Between the 2009 planning origin, the 2024 loan approval, and the December 2025 bid opening, Fujimoto said, conditions changed drastically. The proposed $25.5 million loan would cover Alpha Inc.'s low bid alongside $1.1 million for construction management, $3 million to satisfy new environmental compliance standards, and $3.5 million in contingency funds.

The council withheld final judgment on the proposal rather than advancing it. The outcome leaves unresolved how the county intends to finance repairs to a plant that has required constant maintenance as its infrastructure ages past the six-decade mark. Whether the county will pursue alternative funding, re-examine the project scope, or return with a revised financing structure has not been announced.