IV-421 



of the area is negligible. There is no significant difference 

 in the oxygen concentration, temperature or salinity in the 

 outfall area. The color of the waste from the sugar mill is 

 that of the soil carried with the cane from the fields (the common 

 mode of harvesting sugarcane is with the aid of a bulldozer and 

 considerable soil is scraped up with the cane and hauled to 

 the processing mill). The soil is a bright red-brown color, 

 and this color, plus the turbidity produced by washing the cane 

 before crushing, is discharged into the ocean producing a vivid 

 contrast to the surrounding blue water. The alongshore currents 

 carry this turbidity great distances along the shore instead of 

 allowing it to be diluted further out at sea. 



One of the more distinguishing characteristics of a tropical coast 

 is the large quantity of coral. In the sugar mill waste disposal 

 area at Honokaa, the coral has been completely covered with sludge 

 (composed mainly of bagasse, and settleable solids) within a 

 radius of one-quarter mile from the outfall. For the next quarter 

 mile on either side of the sludge deposit, the coral coverage has 

 been reduced to about 10 percent total coverage. For the third 

 quarter mile down current from the outfall, the coral coverage is 

 between 10 and 55 percent. The coral coverage on the down current 

 side of the outfall does not reach normal density until about 

 three-fourth mile from the outfall, where coverage is about 55 

 percent (considered normal for comparable areas). There is little 



