{"id":235604,"date":"2026-06-04T16:34:52","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T02:34:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=235604"},"modified":"2026-06-04T17:10:23","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T03:10:23","slug":"growing-wastewater-workforce","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2026\/06\/04\/growing-wastewater-workforce\/","title":{"rendered":"Get trained for Hawai&#699;i\u2019s growing wastewater workforce"},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\">Reading time: <\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 2<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span><figure id=\"attachment_235612\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-235612\" style=\"width: 676px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-1.jpg\" alt=\"people installing wastewater leach field\" width=\"676\" height=\"381\" class=\"size-full wp-image-235612\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-1.jpg 676w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-1-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-1-130x73.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 676px) 100vw, 676px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-235612\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> <abbr>CC<\/abbr> students installing the leach field.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>As <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> works to eliminate more than 83,000 cesspools by 2050, <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> Community College and the University of <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> Maui College are preparing the workforce needed to help make it happen. The colleges launched the Onsite Wastewater Treatment Systems Specialist Certificate, a one-year program preparing students for careers in cesspool conversion and sustainable wastewater installation.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_235614\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-235614\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-3-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"group of people wearing bright yellow vest and hardhats\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-235614\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-3-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-3-130x130.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-3.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-235614\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> <abbr>CC<\/abbr> students at the Hilo Wastewater Treatment Plant.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The 23-credit certificate combines coursework in design, construction and sustainability with experiential learning. As demand grows, this program builds the local workforce vital for protecting <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i\u2019s<\/span> environment and public health.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/hawaii.hawaii.edu\/onsite-wastewater-treatment-systems-specialist\">Applications are open for the August 2026 cohort<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>&ldquo;I really enjoy the mix of theoretical and practical information that the course provides. We&#8217;ve learned about how various wastewater treatment systems operate, and also have had many opportunities to learn from professionals in the field, and visit various facilities,&rdquo; said student Marina Kukso. &ldquo;I hope to join the wastewater industry after this program, so this certificate has been the perfect springboard to help me fulfill my goals.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<h2>Flooding, aging infrastructure, need for professionals<\/h2>\n<figure id=\"attachment_235615\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-235615\" style=\"width: 300px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-4-300x300.jpg\" alt=\"people in front of large metal tank\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-235615\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-4-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-4-130x130.jpg 130w, https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/hawaii-wastewater-4.jpg 676w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-235615\" class=\"wp-caption-text\"><span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> CC students at Hawaiian Beaches Water Company in <span lang=\"haw\">Waiakahi&#699;ula<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Recent flooding events have highlighted the vulnerabilities of aging infrastructure, underscoring the urgent need for skilled professionals to replace systems and meet the 2050 mandate.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The cesspool issue is complex, and will require a multitude of different stakeholders working together to find solutions,&rdquo; said Charlotte Cheek, project coordinator and <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> <abbr title=\"Community College\">CC<\/abbr> instructor. &ldquo;The certificate was created in response to the growing need for more wastewater professionals in our communities. The courses educate students about the issues and solutions and connect them with wastewater professionals all over <span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span>.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Financial assistance is available. For more details, email Cheek at <a href=\"mailto:cheekc@hawaii.edu\">cheekc@hawaii.edu<\/a> or visit the <a href=\"https:\/\/hawaii.hawaii.edu\/onsite-wastewater-treatment-systems-specialist\"><span lang=\"haw\">Hawai&#699;i<\/span> <abbr>CC<\/abbr> website<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>New certificate prepares residents to replace dangerous aging sanitation systems.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[61,71,60,603],"class_list":["post-235604","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-academic-news","tag-hawaii-community-college","tag-uh-community-colleges","tag-maui-college","tag-workforce-development","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235604","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/16"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235604"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235604\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":235625,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235604\/revisions\/235625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235604"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235604"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235604"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}