Kokua Line: Why does marsh smell worse than usual?

Question: Have DLNR staff identified the source of the putrid odor around the Hamakua Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Kailua? If yes, can anything be done to reduce the stench?

Answer: The sulfuric stench comes from plants decaying after heavy rain and will dissipate as the area dries out, during what is an annual, natural cycle in Hawaii’s largest wetland habitat, according to a spokesman for the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Here’s the full explanation from Jason Misaki, Oahu wildlife program manager for DLNR’s Division of Forestry and Wildlife:

“The smell is part of a natural process in a wetland’s biogeochemical cycle. When a wetland receives large influxes of rain (or other inputs) it increases the cycle and can cause highly noticeable environmental changes. The recent rain inputs covered what was once exposed vegetation, killing those portions of the plants, leading to increased decomposition.

“The water contains only so much dissolved oxygen, which is necessary for the decomposition process to occur. Once oxygen becomes depleted, the wetland becomes anaerobic (without oxygen) and gases are emitted into the air, resulting in a sulfuric smell (methane and hydrogen sulfide gases are emitted when the system is anaerobic).

“DOFAW staff continue to regularly manage the site to ensure proper waterbird habitat is maintained and ecosystem functions are monitored.”

You are one of several readers asking about this, following up on a Hawaii News Now report Tuesday that aired residents’ complaints of a strong odor near Aoloa Street and Hamakua Drive, just east of the marsh and a canal that runs alongside it; one resident described the odor as smelling “like death.”

According to the DLNR website, Hamakua Marsh and the adjacent Kawainui Marsh comprise the state’s largest remaining wetland habitat, a wildlife sanctuary that is home to four species of endemic and endangered waterbirds. Hamakua Marsh “used to be a stream flowing from Kawainui Marsh to Kaʻelepulu Marsh (now Enchanted Lake) but the water flow has been diverted. The Marsh now depends fully on rainfall on the hillside rising up from the Marsh, as well as runoff from parts of Kailua town,” it says. Read more at dlnr.hawaii.gov/wildlife/sanctuaries/hamakua.

Q: Regarding student loan relief, what if I just got a loan this year?

A: If your federal student loan was disbursed before June 30, 2022, you can apply for one-time federal student loan debt relief, according to Federal Student Aid, an office of the U.S. Department of Education. Find more information at studentaid.gov.

Q: Regarding the federal income tax adjustments for inflation, I know they increased the standard deduction, but will there be a limit on itemized deductions? Itemizing is usually better for us because we have so much home mortgage interest to deduct.

A: No. “By statute, certain items that were indexed for inflation in the past are currently not adjusted,” according to a news release Thursday from the Internal Revenue Service, which goes on to say that “for 2023, as in 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019 and 2018, there is no limitation on itemized deductions, as that limitation was eliminated by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.”

Q: Did the state stop updating the monkeypox case count?

A: No, there just hasn’t been a new case reported since Sept. 30, when the data was most recently updated to a total of 39 cases, a Department of Health spokesperson said. Data on monkeypox cases reported in Hawaii is posted at health.hawaii.gov/docd/hawaii-monkeypox-data. Vaccine distribution also is posted there.

Mahalo

Many thanks to the alert driver who noticed my car keys hanging from the trunk of my car as he was exiting the Kahala Mall parking lot. I had just left my car to start walking to the mall entrance and he saw the keys as he was passing my car toward the exit. He swung back around to let me know. I appreciate it. — Shopper

Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.