In May 2023, an Associated Press photographer in Waialua caught an excavator cutting a leach field into a residential lot. The trench connected to a new septic tank that replaced the home's cesspool. Hawaiʻi Public Radio ran the photo three years later with a story about paying for that kind of work. The same story said the state converts about 400 cesspools a year. At that pace, clearing all of them would take more than 200 years.
Under Act 125, cesspools without an exemption must be converted or connected to sewer by 2050, as the Department of Health explains. The requirement follows the cesspool, not any particular owner. So the conversion cost stays with the property, and every Haleʻiwa sale before 2050 decides who owns it next.
The disclosure form that was supposed to start in January
During the 2026 session, House Bill 1749 would have changed how cesspool homes sell. Starting January 1, 2027, a seller whose property had a cesspool would have had to give the buyer a standardized cesspool disclosure form. The buyer would have had to acknowledge it in writing before signing a purchase contract. The Department of Health and the Real Estate Commission were to have the form ready by November 1, 2026. The form would have shown the cesspool's location, if known, and its priority level under the Hawaiʻi Cesspool Prioritization Tool. The draft also required this warning in at least 14-point type:
"PURSUANT TO SECTION 342D-72, HAWAII REVISED STATUTES, ANY CESSPOOL THAT HAS NOT BEEN GRANTED AN EXEMPTION BY THE DIRECTOR OF HEALTH IS REQUIRED TO BE UPGRADED OR CONVERTED TO A DIRECTOR-APPROVED WASTEWATER SYSTEM OR CONNECTED TO A SEWERAGE SYSTEM BEFORE JANUARY 1, 2050."
The bill never became law. The Legislature's record for HB 1749 stops at conference. The House disagreed with the Senate's amendments, conferees were appointed on April 20, 2026, and no Act number was ever assigned. No other 2026 law created a cesspool disclosure requirement at sale.
So January 2027 brings no new cesspool form for Haleʻiwa sales. A seller won't hand over a document with the cesspool's priority level, and a buyer won't sign one acknowledging the 2050 requirement. The tool that would have put the number on the table, at the point when price is still open, was never created.
Why the priority level would have mattered here
The bill pointed to the Hawaiʻi Cesspool Prioritization Tool for a reason. The tool sorts every census tract with more than 25 cesspools into three levels. Level 1 means the greatest contamination hazard. In the 2022 version of the state's prioritization report, Haleʻiwa sits near the top of the Oʻahu list.
| Oʻahu tract | Cesspools | Priority level | Island rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hauula-Kaaawa | 628 | Priority 1 | 1 |
| Haleiwa | 324 | Priority 1 | 2 |
| Laie | 338 | Priority 1 | 4 |
| Kaena Point | 847 | Priority 1 | 6 |
| Waimea-Kahuku | 773 | Priority 1 | 7 |
| Kawailoa | 209 | Priority 1 | 9 |
Haleʻiwa and Kawailoa together hold 533 cesspools, all rated Priority 1. The Department of Health estimates more than 11,000 cesspools across Oʻahu. In April 2026, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported that the whole North Shore counts as high-priority cesspool territory, with heavy concentrations in Waialua, Haleʻiwa, Mokulēʻia and Pūpūkea.
Priority level doesn't move the deadline. Every cesspool without a Department of Health exemption faces the same 2050 date, set by Act 125 in the 2017 session. Priority level does decide where public money and policy attention tend to go first, and the 2023 state pilot grants were aimed at Levels 1 and 2. A Haleʻiwa home is the kind of property lawmakers had in mind when they drafted that disclosure form.
A five-figure cost with no due date until 2050
Stuart Coleman, executive director of Wastewater Alternatives and Innovations, told Hawaiʻi Public Radio in July 2026 that converting one cesspool typically costs $25,000 to $50,000. For scale, Oʻahu's median single-family sale in September 2026 was $1,110,000 across 293 closings, with a median of 16 days on market, according to the Honolulu Board of REALTORS®. Against that islandwide median, a conversion comes to roughly 2 to 4.5 percent of the price.
That is about the size of the gap that usually separates two otherwise similar comps. With the disclosure bill dead, there's no cesspool-specific form to bring it up during the sale. When a home changes hands unconverted, the buyer takes on the same 2050 obligation the seller had. The next sale works the same way. The cost only comes due for whoever owns the home when 2050 arrives, or for whoever decides to do the work earlier.
Hawaiʻi Public Radio's June report shows how that plays out at scale. Honolulu's Department of Environmental Services paused an $83 million project that would have connected hundreds of ʻEwa homes to municipal sewer at no cost to the owners, because the community showed no interest. Department director Roger Babcock told city lawmakers that the mandate "is still quite a ways into the future" and that "it doesn't seem like there's an urgency to the folks there."
If a free sewer hookup couldn't create urgency in ʻEwa, a 2050 deadline is unlikely to create it at a Haleʻiwa closing table.
The new loan fund, and how far it stretches
The financing side did change this year. On July 8, 2026, Gov. Josh Green signed HB 1618 as Act 204. It creates a revolving fund for low-interest or forgivable loans to eligible households in any county. The loans can pay to convert a cesspool to a Department of Health-approved system or to connect to sewer. Low- and moderate-income households get preference, and the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority sets the loan terms.
The program's size limits who it can help:
- Initial funding: lawmakers set aside $2 million in Green Fee funds. Hawaiʻi Public Radio reported that this would likely cover fewer than 100 conversions.
- Honolulu's contribution: the City and County is adding $625,000. HGIA Executive Director Gwen Yamamoto Lau said that money could be used to buy down interest rates, and that Oʻahu residents who apply before 2030 could qualify for zero-percent loans. That is a possibility she described, not a published rate.
- Status: the Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority lists the Cesspool Conversion Loan Program under "Programs in Development." Its June announcement targeted a rollout by the end of 2026.
- Older help: the $10,000 state income tax credit ran from 2016 to 2020. The $20,000 state pilot grant from 2023 is listed as completed. The Department of Health's financial support page lists a Kauaʻi county grant whose application period closed October 6, 2026, and no county grant on Oʻahu.
Put together, the money arriving is small and may be cheapest for Oʻahu applicants who apply before 2030. For a Haleʻiwa owner, that rewards acting early. The owner who uses the cheap financing turns the obligation into a finished system they can point to when they sell. The owner who waits passes on the obligation, and possibly the loss of that cheaper money.
Questions to put in writing before an offer
With no cesspool form arriving in 2027, a buyer's own questions become the main way the topic comes up during a Haleʻiwa sale. These are the ones that bring out the facts the dead bill would have required:
- Is the home served by a cesspool, a septic or aerobic treatment system, or sewer?
- If it has a cesspool, where on the lot is it?
- What priority level does the property's area carry under the Hawaiʻi Cesspool Prioritization Tool?
- Has a conversion been designed, permitted or priced, and is there paperwork?
- Has the Department of Health granted the property an exemption?
Written answers bring the 2050 obligation into the negotiation before the price is set.
This post is general information about state rules and programs. It is not legal, tax or financial advice, so confirm how any rule or loan applies to your property with a qualified attorney, wastewater professional or lender.
Quick answers
Will a cesspool disclosure form be required at sale starting January 1, 2027? No. HB 1749 would have created one, but it died in conference in April 2026 and has no Act number.
When does the conversion requirement apply? The Department of Health describes Act 125 as requiring cesspools to be replaced by 2050. The disclosure bill that would have tied cesspools to the sale paperwork did not pass.
Can a Haleʻiwa homeowner apply for the Act 204 loan today? The Hawaii Green Infrastructure Authority lists the program as in development, with a launch targeted for the end of 2026. Its site is the place to check for an opening date.
Does the Department of Health call this Act 120? The department's support page links it as Act 120 of the 2026 session. The governor's signing letter identifies HB 1618 as Act 204.
If you're pricing a North Shore home with a cesspool, whether you're buying or selling, Oahu Lux Homes can help you factor the conversion into your offer or listing price and line up local wastewater pros to scope the work. Start your Oʻahu home search, or request a free home valuation that accounts for what's in the ground.
