‘It smells like death’: Residents balk over strange stench from Kailua canal

Your top local headlines for Tuesday, Oct. 18.
Published: Oct. 18, 2022 at 7:35 AM HST|Updated: Oct. 18, 2022 at 4:49 PM HST
Email This Link
Share on Pinterest
Share on LinkedIn

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Something is stinking up a canal in Windward Oahu — and it’s so bad, some residents said they are having trouble sleeping.

“It smells like death,” said Rebecca Rendon, a Kailua resident. “I woke up thinking that it was a bad dream from watching that Jeffrey Dahmer Netflix show. Just like death in a house, something decaying or dead.”

The canal runs along the Hamakua Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Kailua, and complaints are coming from an area near Aoloa Street and Hamakua Drive.

Residents say the stench smells like sewage or ammonia.

There’s a foamy substance on the water and neighbors said they even saw fish gasping for air.

“I don’t remember ever smelling anything like this over here,” said Jennifer Martell, who has lived in the area for nearly four years. “I feel like when you have a lot of rain runoff, you never know what’s going into the water.”

Recently, it has been raining in that area.

The state Health Department said the area is under the jurisdiction of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

HNN has reached out to the department and are awaiting a reply.

This story will be updated.