U.S. Water News Online
HONOLULU -- In a matter of a few days, Oliver Johnson went from an apparently healthy man who loved to surf to having his leg amputated and being on life support, possibly infected with a flesh-eating bacteria.
His friends say the 34-year-old Johnson was infected when he fell into waters at a boat harbor in Waikiki that were contaminated by the city's massive release of sewage into the Ala Wai Canal.
Monica Ivey, spokeswoman for The Queen's Medical Center, would not confirm his diagnosis but said Johnson was in "very critical" condition.
State Health Department officials said they were not investigating the case and could not confirm news reports that Johnson had necrotizing fasciitis, which destroys muscles, fat, and skin tissue.
Dr. Sarah Park, deputy chief of the Disease Outbreak Control Division, noted that Johnson reportedly had wounds and multiple bacteria were discovered, including a common water bug, but there was no way of determining where or how he might have been infected.
"There's no way to predict," she said. "Maybe one of them was associated with sewage, but the others may not be. There's no way to know for sure."
Park said bacteria are everywhere, not just in water.
"Regardless if we're talking about sewage in the water or not, our constant recommendation is, if you've got an open wound or cut, you've got to be careful," she said.
But friends say they are convinced it's the water.
Real estate appraiser Stephany Sofos visited Johnson and said his body was badly swollen with his kidneys and liver failing.
"What infection could he have possibly gotten outside of the Ala Wai Canal that would do this to him so quickly?" she asked. "While you cannot say exactly where he got it, you can make a lot of assumptions by looking at what happened."
Sofos said Johnson, a mortgage broker, was an avid surfer, runner and was extremely healthy.
"In three days he went from all that to having his leg removed and being at death's door," she said. "We want people to know, if you go into these waters where the government is saying everything is fine, you can die."
Sofos and others said Johnson fell into the Ala Wai Harbor in the early morning hours. He suffered cuts to his leg, hands and feet during the fall or trying to get out of the water.
He was treated at a hospital for his wounds and was released. He was checked into the hospital again after experiencing trouble breathing and severe pain in his leg, Sofos said.
The city diverted nearly 50 million gallons of raw sewage into the Ala Wai Canal after a 42-inch sewer main, stressed by heavy rains, cracked March 24. The pipe was repaired March 29.
The canal flows out to the Ala Wai Harbor and to the Pacific Ocean.
"To me, what happened is catastrophic," Sofos said. "Fifty million gallons of raw sewage in an urban area?
"It seemed like a third-world reaction. I'm really disgusted by this. What a destruction of our environment. And now our friend is dying," she said.
Warning signs were posted along Waikiki beaches and neighboring areas, but most were removed following an evaluation of water samples taken to measure contamination.
The raw sewage spill was the largest in Honolulu in decades.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has asked the city to provide additional information regarding the sewage release for possible action, including fines.
"Obviously, 50 million or so estimated gallons is extraordinarily large amount of sewage," said Alexis Strauss, director for the EPA's water division for the Pacific Southwest region. "That's extraordinary for Hawaii and on a national scale."
Strauss said with a spill that size, there could be consequences for the environment, public health and the state's tourism-driven economy.
The EPA and the city were in negotiations on long-term fixes to the aging sewer system, which in recent weeks had about a dozen separate spills.
"There's a whole series of vulnerable aspects of their infrastructure that I think needs to be addressed," Strauss said.
Return to the U.S. Water News Archives page Or Return to the U.S. Water News Homepage
Editor@uswaternews.com
*Your Name:
*Your Email:
*Friend's Email:
Use a comma to separate e-mail addresses:
*Your Comments:
Hi, I thought you might like to read this article.
*Required Fields