Water Quality Samples for Total Metals

Table 1. Results from nearshore water quality samples collected by DOH during April 2024 for total metals, in micrograms per liter (µg/L).

Parameters (Total)	DOH EAL: Surface Water Action Level for Marine Habitats (Ecological)1	Hanakao’o Park			Mala Wharf			Puunoa (Baby) Beach			Kamehameha Iki Park					Shark Pit - Puamana			Launiupoko Beach		Launiupoko Beach Surf Break	Olowalu Surf Break	Kahekili (Airport) Beach
		base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	triplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate
Aluminum	—	10.7	11.1	62.9	78.5	15.4	17.6	37.2	52.3	45.6	508	101	94.6	78.3	81.8	77.4	79.2	66.6	6.52	6.76
Antimony	30	0.128	0.111	0.11	0.102	0.137	0.135	0.116	0.116	0.106	0.102	0.117	0.125	0.118	0.12	0.115	0.118	0.103	0.127	0.133
Arsenic	0.14	1.36	1.48	1.26	1.4	1.39	1.47	1.45	1.3	1.5	1.63	1.57	1.3	1.33	1.29	1.3	1.59	1.47	1.45	1.54
Beryllium	0.038	ND	ND	0.01	0.01	0.011	0.011	0.009*	0.01	0.01	0.019	0.011	0.011	0.011	0.011	0.012	0.012	0.013	0.012	0.011
Cadmium	9.3	ND	ND	0.006	0.007	0.01	0.01	0.013	0.006	0.007	0.009	0.006	0.006	0.015	0.009	0.006	0.005	0.007	0.007	0.004*
Chromium	50	0.165	0.217	0.328	0.362	0.228	0.205	0.216	0.291	0.293	1.35	0.39	0.377	0.382	0.37	0.345	0.381	0.378	0.218	0.237
Cobalt	23	ND	ND	0.02	0.018	ND	ND	ND	0.013	0.007*	0.318	0.035	0.046	0.034	0.04	0.033	0.034	0.039	ND	ND
Copper	2.9	0.058	0.061	0.172	0.19	0.276	0.297	0.145	0.163	0.177	0.604	0.204	0.171	0.159	0.152	0.127	0.214	0.214	0.101	0.246
Iron	—	5.4	3.96	36.1	43.5	4.24	6.91	10.9	19.1	15.3	393	40.3	42.7	33.4	41.4	30.9	45.7	40.4	2	1.93
Lead	5.6	0.004*	0.012	0.024	0.027	0.012	0.018	0.02	0.027	0.025	0.107	0.022	0.029	0.021	0.019	0.018	0.041	0.034	0.009	0.013
Manganese	—	0.692	0.642	1.62	1.79	1.03	0.874	1.01	1.21	1.2	8.47	2.43	4.67	4.13	3.19	3.11	2.42	2.28	1.15	1.31
Mercury	0.025	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.004*	0.004*	0.002*	0.004*	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Molybdenum	370	10	10.4	9.38	9.46	10.5	10.6	10.1	10.5	10.6	9.47	10	10.4	10.5	10.5	10.2	10	10.3	10.7	10.1
Nickel	8.3	0.157	0.122	0.248	0.251	0.183	0.215	0.211	0.221	0.224	1.5	0.295	0.309	0.285	0.296	0.259	0.368	0.336	0.195	0.227
Selenium	71	0.006*	0.005*	0.029	0.014*	0.025	0.026	0.023	0.028	0.018	0.022	0.021	0.024	0.029	0.022	0.014*	0.024	0.026	0.011*	0.024
Silicon	—	385	325	317	445	240	34	163	86	111	967	111	368	128	368	111	462	565	188	128
Silver	0.1	0.093	0.094	0.116	0.126	0.119	0.117	0.111	0.12	0.118	0.115	0.113	0.113	0.118	0.119	0.127	0.115	0.122	0.116	0.124
Thallium	12	ND	ND	0.007*	0.008*	0.009*	0.01	0.011	0.009*	0.008*	0.008*	0.009*	0.009*	0.011	0.009*	0.01	0.009*	0.009*	0.008*	0.011
Tin	—	ND	ND	0.019	0.016	0.018	0.025	0.027	0.027	0.016	0.022	0.024	0.016	0.017	0.015	0.017	0.019	0.021	0.02	0.03
Titanium	—	0.672	0.921	5.29	6.3	0.807	1.04	2.4	4.66	3.72	51.9	7.53	8.37	6.03	7.78	6.07	6.21	5.57	0.329	0.158
Vanadium	81	1.72	1.65	1.64	1.66	1.65	1.67	1.5	1.54	1.56	2.47	1.67	1.69	1.58	1.64	1.63	1.98	2.03	1.69	1.61
Zinc	86	ND	ND	0.919	0.988	1.29	0.811	0.877	0.927	0.991	2.4	1.02	1.42	1.25	0.63	1	0.9	0.925	1.1	1.45

Coastal water quality samples were collected by DOH in accordance with DOH protocols.
DOH EAL: Hawaii DOH Environmental Action Level for screening. An entry of “—” means the analyte does not have an EAL.
The table shows valid sampling results from the sites, including duplicate and triplicate samples collected for quality assurance purposes.
Concentrations higher than DOH EALs are shown in bold font.
ND: Non-detect
*Values were J flagged in the laboratory report, indicating that the result should be considered as an estimated rather than quantitative value.
¹Surface water EALs are for marine habitats and primarily consider potential harm to aquatic habitats or the potential for substances to accumulate in aquatic species. The EALs are from Table D-2b of DOH’s TGM EAL Surfer (found here: Environmental Hazard Evaluation and Environmental Action Levels – HEER Office (hawaii.gov) (opens in a new tab)) from Spring 2024. Recreational water criteria for human health are based on bacteria levels in the water. See “What Do the Data Tell Us?” for explanations of why the levels shown here do not pose a risk to people using these waters for recreation.

Table 2. Results from nearshore water quality samples collected by DOH during August 2024 for total metals, in micrograms per liter (µg/L).

Parameters (Total)	DOH EAL: Surface Water Action Level for Marine Habitats (Ecological)1	Hanakao’o Park			Mala Wharf			Puunoa (Baby) Beach			Kamehameha Iki Park			Shark Pit - Puamana			Launiupoko Beach				Launiupoko Beach Surf Break	Olowalu Surf Break	Kahekili (Airport) Beach
		base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	triplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate	base	duplicate
Aluminum	—	116	95.8	47.3	16.6	18.2	10.4	49.5	42.9	31.9	34.1	52.3	57.1	37.3	23.2	27.1	42.8	20.5	ND	ND
Antimony	30	0.136	0.109	0.132	0.252	0.176	0.078	0.097	0.077	0.086	0.084	0.086	0.087	0.087	0.14	0.076	0.105	0.082	0.104	0.094
Arsenic	0.14	1.02	1.1	0.767	0.99	0.676	0.731	0.666	0.97	1.09	0.887	0.774	0.789	0.703	0.913	0.852	0.845	0.765	0.623	0.664
Beryllium	0.038	0.018	0.01	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.005*	0.005*	0.006*	ND	0.005*	ND	ND	0.005*	0.006*	0.005*	ND	ND	ND
Cadmium	9.3	0.086	ND	0.025	0.043	0.028	0.049	0.033	0.056	0.054	0.053	0.023	0.021	0.03	0.043	0.058	0.032	0.037	0.024	0.025
Chromium	50	0.386	0.372	0.287	0.172	0.161	0.153	0.301	0.279	0.923	0.251	0.381	0.535	0.32	0.218	0.23	0.535	0.235	0.145	0.143
Cobalt	23	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Copper	2.9	0.301	0.243	0.193	0.083	0.154	0.131	0.188	0.182	0.167	0.159	0.158	0.181	0.146	0.129	0.132	0.228	0.138	0.041	0.025
Iron	—	88.5	55.2	37.7	7.07	10	1.91	22.9	14.4	18.1	13.4	27.9	36.4	25.9	13.4	12.1	40.4	8.95	1.17	1.34
Lead	5.6	0.084	0.057	0.085	0.039	0.035	0.045	0.026	0.025	0.02	0.02	0.026	0.035	0.028	0.02	0.022	0.028	0.012	0.012	0.009
Manganese	—	1.83	3.87	0.883	0.62	0.538	0.19	0.808	1.38	1.67	1.08	1.67	1.78	1.05	1.46	1.67	1.07	0.591	0.164	0.178
Mercury	0.025	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.004*	0.003*	0.003*	0.004*	ND	0.003*	ND	0.003*	0.005	0.002*	ND	ND	ND
Molybdenum	370	10.1	9.92	9.54	9.54	9.11	9.5	9.04	7.86	9.99	8.78	9.62	9.31	8.92	13.2	7.74	9.11	6.6	10.3	10.4
Nickel	8.3	0.609	0.469	0.305	0.168	0.135	0.138	0.262	0.244	0.216	0.296	0.262	0.308	0.229	0.19	0.233	0.466	0.206	0.143	0.132
Selenium	71	0.032	0.043	0.047	0.029	0.063	ND	ND	0.015	ND	ND	0.028	0.022	0.023	0.031	0.016*	0.018*	0.032	ND	ND
Silicon	—	0.346	0.386	ND	0.047	0.007	0.073	0.146	0.057	0.08	0.013	ND	ND	0.093	ND	0.007	0.193	0.153	0.067	0.04
Silver	0.1	0.27	0.07	0.064	0.075	0.042	0.077	0.156	0.19	0.193	0.189	0.156	0.177	0.149	0.185	0.192	0.17	0.141	0.047	0.065
Thallium	12	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Tin	—	0.404	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.338	0.318	0.281	0.325	0.418	0.576	0.396	0.246	0.327	0.35	0.271	ND	ND
Titanium	—	6.96	5.75	4.57	1.42	1.34	0.534	4.62	3.67	2.59	2.68	6.24	6.44	4.09	2.11	2.38	5.36	2.21	0.107	ND
Vanadium	81	2.47	2.46	1.86	1.82	1.75	1.77	1.7	1.65	1.84	1.74	1.86	1.9	1.8	1.69	1.78	1.84	1.71	1.65	1.78
Zinc	86	1.2	1.41	0.517	1.24	0.267	0.517	1.24	2.41	2.22	0.681	0.914	2.19	1.1	2.83	1.11	0.816	0.455	0.549	0.637

Coastal water quality samples were collected by DOH in accordance with DOH protocols.
DOH EAL: Hawaii DOH Environmental Action Level for screening. An entry of “—” means the analyte does not have an EAL.
The table shows valid sampling results from the sites, including duplicate and triplicate samples collected for quality assurance purposes.
Concentrations higher than DOH EALs are shown in bold font.
ND: Non-detect
*Values were J flagged in the laboratory report, indicating that the result should be considered as an estimated rather than quantitative value.
¹Surface water EALs are for marine habitats and primarily consider potential harm to aquatic habitats or the potential for substances to accumulate in aquatic species. The EALs are from Table D-2b of DOH’s TGM EAL Surfer (found here: Environmental Hazard Evaluation and Environmental Action Levels – HEER Office (hawaii.gov) (opens in a new tab) from Spring 2024. Recreational water criteria for human health are based on bacteria levels in the water. See “What Do the Data Tell Us?” for explanations of why the levels shown here do not pose a risk to people using these waters for recreation.

Table 3. Results from nearshore water quality samples collected by DOH during November 2024 for total metals, in micrograms per liter (µg/L).

Parameters	Hanakao’o Park	Mala Wharf	Puunoa (Baby) Beach 1			Kamehameha Iki Park	Shark Pit - Puamana	Launiupoko Beach (Nearshore)	Launiupoko Beach (Surf Break)	Olowalu Surf Break	Kahekili (Airport) Beach1
	base	base	base	duplicate	base	base	base	base	base	base	duplicate
Aluminum	12.2	32.7	25.5	26	21	66.3	64.6	28.9	54.5	5.97*	3.2*
Antimony	0.14	0.192	0.136	0.219	0.126	0.163	0.226	0.13	0.115	0.186	0.22
Arsenic	0.889	0.857	1.2	0.991	0.838	1.18	1.01	0.916	1.01	0.963	1.06
Beryllium	ND	ND	0.01	ND	ND	ND*	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Cadmium	0.003*	0.014	0.014	0.03	0.014	0.003*	0.003*	0.036	ND	0.009	0.045
Chromium	0.179	0.207	0.166	0.129	0.145	0.313	0.328	0.201	0.286	0.166	0.137
Cobalt	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.058	0.076	0.035	0.038	ND	ND
Copper	0.078	0.207	0.633	0.515	0.12	0.29	0.159	0.143	0.195	0.106	0.048
Iron	5.5	27.4	9.96	11.6	9.01	48.9	92.6	20.3	53.5	3.44	2.11
Lead	0.012	0.034	0.069	0.056	0.016	0.037	0.037	0.018	0.026	0.009	0.007
Manganese	0.402	1.04	0.335	1.1	0.491	0.653	6.75	3.54	1.44	0.591	0.395
Mercury	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Molybdenum	10.7	14.6	8.59	9.29	9.82	10.6	16.6	10.6	9.38	10.4	17.2
Nickel	0.154	0.195	0.209	0.188	0.152	0.298	0.298	0.202	0.379	0.192	0.147
Selenium	0.011*	ND	0.027	0.031	0.021	0.024	0.011*	ND	0.022	ND	0.014*
Silicon	368	495	345	368	252	459	714	251	645	339	474
Silver	ND	ND	0.025	0.02	ND	0.016*	ND	0.012*	0.012*	ND	0.017*
Thallium	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Tin	ND	0.03	ND	ND	ND	0.201	0.048	ND	0.27	0.01	0.217
Titanium	1.17	3.8	2.31	2.24	2.01	9.38	9.79	3.79	8.94	0.445	0.193
Vanadium	1.86	1.77	1.89	1.6	1.48	2	1.99	1.9	1.95	1.77	1.92
Zinc	1.62	2.14	1.8	2.1	0.449	3.98	0.515	0.654	0.415	0.919	1

Coastal water quality samples were collected by DOH in accordance with DOH protocols.
ND: Non-detect
*Values were J flagged in the laboratory report, indicating that the result should be considered as an estimated rather than quantitative value.
¹Additional duplicate samples were collected at Puunoa (Baby) Beach and Kahekili (Airport) Beach for quality assurance/quality control purposes.

Table 4. Results from nearshore water quality samples collected by DOH during February 2025 for total metals, in micrograms per liter (µg/L).

Parameters	Mala Wharf	Puunoa (Baby) Beach	Shark Pit - Puamana 1			Launiupoko Beach (Nearshore)	Olowalu Surf Break	Kahekili (Airport) Beach 1
	base	base	base	duplicate	base	base	base	duplicate
Aluminum	274	24	64.1	53.4	83.4	151	15.8	16.2
Antimony	0.064	0.075	0.067	0.07	0.065	0.068	0.064	0.07
Arsenic	1.07	1.19	1.1	1.09	1.03	1.16	1.1	1.16
Beryllium	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Cadmium	0.023	0.022	0.016	0.019	0.02	0.012	0.047	0.023
Chromium	0.706	0.207	0.395	0.266	0.386	0.551	0.199	0.224
Cobalt	0.011	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Copper	0.777	0.244	0.224	0.228	0.215	0.506	0.168	0.159
Iron	100	4.04	15.5	12.7	23.3	61.7	3.54	2.88
Lead	0.15	0.024	0.031	0.023	0.041	0.049	0.023	0.022
Manganese	6.72	0.774	0.65	0.781	1.73	4.36	0.588	0.582
Mercury	0.024	0.024	0.031	0.028	0.026	0.025	0.04	0.035
Molybdenum	5.36	5.96	5.12	5.51	5.11	6.13	4.36	4.86
Nickel	0.743	0.285	0.316	0.296	0.466	0.81	0.252	0.261
Selenium	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Silicon	0.062	ND	0.025	0.021	ND	0.033	0.007	0.015
Silver	0.108	0.107	0.114	0.113	0.112	0.1	0.132	0.114
Thallium	0.013	0.017	0.015	0.017	0.017	0.016	0.013	0.018
Tin	0.031	0.022	0.16	0.026	0.013	0.012	0.021	0.006*
Titanium	33.7	2.63	7.79	5.78	9.77	16.8	1.87	1.33
Vanadium	1.97	1.48	1.46	1.46	1.54	1.91	1.53	1.63
Zinc	3.3	0.831	2.54	1.9	2.46	2.07	2.47	2.02

Coastal water quality samples were collected by DOH in accordance with DOH protocols.
ND: Non-detect
*Values were J flagged in the laboratory report, indicating that the result should be considered as an estimated rather than quantitative value.
¹Additional duplicate samples were collected at Shark Pit – Puamana and Kahekili (Airport) Beach for quality assurance/quality control purposes.

Table 5. Results from nearshore water quality samples collected by DOH during May 2025 for total metals, in micrograms per liter (µg/L).

Parameters	Mala Wharf 1			Puunoa (Baby) Beach	Shark Pit - Puamana	Launiupoko Beach (Nearshore)	Olowalu Surf Break	Kahekili (Airport) Beach 1
	base	duplicate	base	base	base	base	base	duplicate
Aluminum	96.2	87.8	22.4	193	73.7	217	5.26*	7.21
Antimony	0.085	0.076	0.1	0.087	0.059	0.069	ND	ND
Arsenic	1.25	1.24	1.26	1.37	1.12	1.52	1.4	1.54
Beryllium	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Cadmium	0.059	0.06	0.032	0.046	0.055	0.055	0.036	0.053
Chromium	0.284	0.258	0.161	0.524	0.279	0.763	0.238	0.313
Cobalt	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	0.171	0.271
Copper	0.24	0.222	0.209	0.276	0.152	0.436	0.209	0.201
Iron	44.2	36.2	7.17	84.6	42.5	200	0.768*	3.73
Lead	0.051	0.042	0.013	0.031	0.023	0.05	0.021	0.027
Manganese	1.93	1.81	0.704	2.95	2.9	5.5	0.39	0.355
Mercury	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND	ND
Molybdenum	9.53	9.73	9.65	9.37	11.7	9.25	1.3	1.56
Nickel	0.362	0.352	0.207	0.482	0.299	1.63	0.138	0.166
Selenium	ND	ND	0.02	ND	0.03	ND	0.12	0.135
Silicon	0.132	0.202	ND	0.034	0.097	0.661	2.71	2.97
Silver	0.982	0.871	0.826	0.924	0.956	1	0.241	0.23
Thallium	0.008*	0.006*	0.009*	0.007*	0.007*	0.007*	0.01	0.017
Tin	ND	0.059	ND	ND	0.063	0.034	0.029	0.049
Titanium	7.31	6.12	1.53	17.1	6.73	20.2	0.239	0.277
Vanadium	1.53	1.57	1.37	1.72	1.43	2.01	2.02	2.03
Zinc	0.695	1.97	1.09	0.459	1.39	1.85	1.35	1.59

Coastal water quality samples were collected by DOH in accordance with DOH protocols.
ND: Non-detect
*Values were J flagged in the laboratory report, indicating that the result should be considered as an estimated rather than quantitative value.
¹Additional duplicate samples were collected at Mala Wharf and Kahekili (Airport) Beach for quality assurance/quality control purposes.

Back