Declines in tourism during COVID-19 reduces nitrogen loading of groundwater input to a coral reef in West Maui, Hawai'i.

The coral reef at Kahekili Beach Park (KBP) in West Maui receives eutrophic submarine groundwater discharge (SGD), of which over half is injected wastewater from the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility (LWRF). Algal blooms, decreased calcification, calcium carbonate dissolution and bioerosion have been identified as consequences of injected wastewater. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Maui visitor numbers dropped 99 %, which reduced effluent volume and total nitrogen (TN) loading of injected wastewater by 70 % and 60 %, respectively.

Decision analysis to support wastewater management in coral reef priority area.

A cocktail of land-based sources of pollution threatens coral reef ecosystems, and addressing these has become a key management and policy challenge in the State of Hawai'i, other US territories, and globally. In West Maui, Hawai'i, nearly one quarter of all living corals were lost between 1995 and 2008. Onsite disposal systems (OSDS) for sewage leak contaminants into drinking water sources and nearshore waters.