Addressing the critical environmental and public health impact of outdated wastewater infrastructure on island communities is the aim of a University of South Florida project, in collaboration with the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, that was awarded a three-year, $5 million cooperative agreement from the U.S. National Science Foundation.
This NSF award supports the Honu project’s continuation in the Convergence Accelerator program to develop adaptive decentralized wastewater infrastructure solutions for island communities. The project aims to tackle a severe environmental and public health crisis with outdated wastewater infrastructure faced by island and rural communities.
The “Honu Hub” is a new class of small, adaptive, and decentralized wastewater infrastructure solutions. Honu Hubs are energy-independent and feature remote monitoring and automation, making them suitable for cesspool replacement in low-density and isolated areas. The researchers at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa are leading the design and real-world pilot demonstration of the nutrient capture systems in the Honu Hub systems. The pilot testing is taking place at the Wahiawa wastewater treatment plant in collaboration with the City and County of Honolulu.
Honu Hub is a neighborhood-scale wastewater system that runs on solar energy, provides clean water, and recovers nutrients.
Dr. Zhiyue Wang, the project’s co-principal investigator and assistant professor at UH Mānoa’s Water Resources Research Center and Department of Civil, Environmental and Construction Engineering in the College of Engineering, will assist with the pilot testing of Honu Hub in Hawaiʻi and developing novel technologies for nutrient recovery in the system. Dr. Tao Yan, director of the Water Resources Research Center, is also part of the Honu team.
Wang is working with Principal Investigator Daniel Yeh (University of South Florida), Co-Principal Investigator Stuart Coleman (Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations), and Co-Principal Investigator Allan Smith (Swiftwater Solutions).
“Collaborating with the University of South Florida, our goal is to empower communities with solutions that protect public health, preserve our nearshore ecosystems, and ensure clean water for future generations,” Wang said.
Focus on Hawaiʻi’s Water Health
By centering the work in Hawaiʻi, the team ensures the technology is tailored to overcome local challenges, such as poor soils, high water tables, and saltwater intrusion. This research is vital for protecting the health of the islands’ water resources and creating a market-ready and sustainable sanitation solution that can be adopted across the U.S. Pacific region and the mainland.
Watch a video on this wastewater infrastructure project and Honu Team members.
For more information, read the University of South Florida news release.