DOH posts water advisory at Maui beach
WAILUKU, Maui (AP) — The Hawaii Department of Health posted a water advisory at a Maui beach that tested above a bacteria safety threshold, officials said.
The health department found the water quality off Wailea Beach exceeded acceptable levels of enterococci.
Enterococci levels at the southern Maui beach were 384 per 100 milliliters of water, while the safety threshold is 130 per 100 milliliters, the department said
The levels recorded by the department’s Clean Water Branch during routine monitoring could signal the presence of harmful microorganisms including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, and parasites, officials said.
The advisory will remain posted until water samples fall below the threshold, officials said.
Children, elderly people and those with weakened immune systems are at increased risk of developing illnesses or infections, officials said.
State could have more than 10M visitors
HONOLULU (AP) — Hawaii is on track to have more than 10 million visitors in one year for the first time in history, although that may not be reflected in dollar amounts, tourism officials said.
Hawaii Tourism Authority data showed there have been nearly 8.7 million visitors through October. The figure is a 5.5% increase over the 8.2 million arrivals through the same period last year, when the state’s count was 9.9 million visitors.
The 800,448 tourists who visited Hawaii in October was an increase of nearly 37,000 during the same month last year. The 4.8% increase is part of a decade-long growth pattern, officials said. The growth reflects more tourists traveling to the state from the U.S. mainland and countries including Japan and Canada, officials said.
Spending by tourists was down for seven of the first nine months of 2019, followed by a small gain last month when spending rose 0.9%, or $12 million.