‘It smells like death’: Residents concerned about mysterious odor in Kailua

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Something is stinking up a canal in Windward Oahu – and it’s so bad, some residents said it’s hard to sleep.

“It smells like death,” Kailua resident Rebecca Rendon said. “I woke up from a bad dream watching a Jeffrey Dahmer Netflix show. Like death in the house, something rotten or dead.”

The canal runs along the Hamakua Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary in Kailua, and the complaints are coming from an area near Aoloa Street and Hamakua Drive.

It smells like sewage or ammonia.

There is a foamy substance on the surface of the water and neighbors said they even saw the fish breathing.

“I don’t remember ever smelling anything like this around here,” said Jennifer Martell, who has lived in the area for about four years. “I feel like when you get a lot of rain, you never know what’s going to happen to the water.”

Recently, it rained in that region.

The state Department of Health said the area is under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Land and Natural Resources.

HNN has contacted the department and is awaiting a response.

This story will be updated.

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