In the United States nearly 70 million (30%) housing units are served by septic tanks. The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency indicated in a survey conducted in 1978 that 32% of the population is still not being served by primary, secondary or advanced waste treatment facilities. It follows that several thousand homes in the State of Hawaii are not provided with service connections to the county-operated wastewater collection, treatment, and disposal systems. Specifically, the island of Oahu has an estimated 128,659 cesspools and 1,027 septic tanks, Hawaii maintains 29,084 cesspools and 1,697 septic tanks, Maui has 14,086 cesspools and 968 septic tanks, and Kauai has 4, 197 cesspools and 868 septic tanks (Harold Yee, 1999). These homes (57% of Hawaii's population) must each operate their own on-site system to collect, treat, and dispose sewage.