Nearly 55 million gallons of sewage are threatening Hawaii’s coral reefs. Much of that pollution enters the ground each day, within just a few hundred yards of the coast and the 410,000 acres of life-supporting reefs that lie beyond it.
Exposure to sewage pollution can kill the reefs bringing bacteria, viruses, and nutrients that lead to the growth of reef-smothering algae. But, that’s not the only threat. Reefs are also threatened by human-caused climate change, ocean acidification, and plastic and agricultural pollution.
