Septic Installation & Cesspool Conversion in the Volcano Golf & Country Club Subdivision

We install septic systems and convert cesspools in the Volcano Golf and Country Club subdivision, roughly 35 minutes up Highway 11 from our equipment yard in Keaau. This is a small neighborhood of compact lots wrapped around a golf course that has been there for about a century, and on these lots, space is the thing that shapes almost every design.

The subdivision by the numbers

  • 363 residents in 179 households at the 2020 Census, in the Volcano Golf Course census-designated place. The Census Bureau first listed it as its own place for the 2020 count, separate from Volcano.
  • About 0.93 square miles in total, all land. The community of Volcano borders it to the north and east, and Hawaii Volcanoes National Park lies to the south.
  • Elevation around 4,000 feet. The Census lists 4,010 feet for the CDP.
  • Typical lots of about 11,200 square feet. Several recent real estate listings show that size, with RS-15 zoning. A 14,457 square foot lot was marketed as one of the largest in the subdivision.
  • Rainwater catchment. The homes listed for sale here use catchment tanks, commonly 10,000 gallons. We did not find a county water system serving the subdivision.
  • County-paved roads, no HOA. Listings describe paved county roads and no homeowners association or CC&Rs.
  • Kau district. Property records place the subdivision in Kau, even though most people think of it as part of Volcano.
  • Rain: the nearest station in the State Data Book, at park headquarters, has a 30-year normal of about 104 inches a year. Local agents describe the golf course side as drier and sunnier than Volcano Village.

Small lots, big tanks

On an 11,200 square foot lot, the house, the catchment tank, the driveway and the wastewater system all compete for the same ground. State rules (HAR 11-62) set aside 10,000 square feet of land per individual wastewater system, so a typical lot here holds one system and no more. Lots recorded before August 30, 1991 are exempt from that land-area rule, which matters for some of the older parcels.

One system can serve up to five bedrooms and 1,000 gallons a day. That is the ceiling if you are thinking about an ohana unit or a large addition. Both buildings would have to share one system, and DOH presumes any room of 70 square feet or more is a bedroom. Setbacks are 5 feet from the building and 5 feet from the property line (9 feet for a seepage pit), so on a narrow lot the engineer often has only one workable spot for the leach field.

Have the engineer look at the lot before you lock in a floor plan.

What sits under the yard

We don’t guess at depth to rock here. The engineer’s percolation test and 5-foot soil profile tell us what we are working with. What we do know is that lava tubes exist here. At least one home in the subdivision has been marketed with an open lava tube cave in the backyard.

A tube is an open void, so it can’t serve as treatment soil. If a profile hole or an excavation opens into one, the layout has to move. On fractured lava, the state rules require a soil replacement system: the disposal area is built in imported soil, and its bottom must stay 3 feet or more above groundwater. Expect extra digging and trucked-in fill.

The homes and what they usually need

Real estate listings here show houses built in the 1990s and 2000s still on cesspools, alongside others with septic tanks. Any home built before the statewide cesspool ban took effect in March 2016 could still be on one.

The typical projects we expect here:

  • Cesspool conversions on older homes, ahead of the 2050 deadline or when an addition triggers a DOH review.
  • New homes on vacant lots. In April 2023 a local brokerage counted eight vacant land listings in the subdivision. Any new home needs an approved septic system or ATU, since no new cesspools are allowed.
  • Remodels that add bedrooms, which can bring the whole wastewater system under review.

Reaching the back of the lot

The roads are paved, and some homes sit on quiet cul-de-sacs, so access is easier than in a lot of Puna subdivisions. The tight part is the lot itself. Catchment tanks, rock walls and fences can block the only path to the back yard, so we look at the route for the excavator before we commit to a layout.

At 4,000 feet, mist and rain roll in fast, so we plan around the forecast.

Rules and money for this neighborhood

Every cesspool in Hawaii has to be upgraded, converted or connected to sewer before January 1, 2050 (how Act 125 works). Volcano is not one of the five Hawaii Island priority areas named in the Department of Health’s 2017 report, but individual lots can still score high on the UH Hawaii Cesspool Prioritization Tool, so it is worth looking up your parcel.

Financial help is limited right now. The new state loan fund under Act 204 is expected to open in late 2026, and USDA Section 504 repair loans and grants may apply to lower-income owners, so check eligibility. Our grants and loans guide covers each option. For budgeting, see what a conversion costs in Hawaii.

The golf course already made the switch

The course itself is on 156 acres owned by Kamehameha Schools. It closed in 2020 after a dispute with its former operator, and it reopened on March 31, 2022 under a management company hired by the school.

Before that, the course had its own wastewater issue. The U.S. EPA cited Kamehameha Schools for a large-capacity cesspool at the Volcano Golf and Country Club. That cesspool was closed and replaced with a septic system, which DOH approved for use on July 26, 2017. The federal ban on large-capacity cesspools dates to 2005. Home cesspools fall under the state’s 2050 deadline instead.

The ground here has moved before, too. During the 2018 Kilauea summit collapse, a sinkhole opened on Highway 11 at mile marker 30, near the Volcano Country Club. If your cesspool or tank went through that summer’s shaking, it is worth opening and inspecting before you design around it.

Next door: Volcano Village and beyond

Ready to plan your system?

Send us your address and what you want to do. We’ll tell you what the lot size and setbacks allow before you pay for plans. Request a free estimate

Frequently Asked Questions

My lot is only about 11,200 square feet. Can it hold a septic system?

Usually, yes. State rules require 10,000 square feet per system, and typical lots here just clear that. Where the system goes depends on setbacks, the house footprint and the catchment tank.

Can I add an ohana unit with its own septic system?

On a typical lot here, no. There isn’t room for a second 10,000 square foot allowance. Both units would have to share one system, capped at five bedrooms and 1,000 gallons a day.

There’s a lava tube on my property. Does that rule out a leach field?

Not automatically. A tube is an open void, not treatment soil, so we won’t put a field over one or let it drain into one. The engineer maps it and the layout works around it. On fractured lava, the rules call for a soil replacement system.

Is the subdivision on county water or sewer?

The homes we found listed use rainwater catchment, and we found no sign of a county system here. Confirm your own lot with the county Department of Environmental Management before you plan.

My house was built in the 2000s. Could it still have a cesspool?

Yes. New cesspools were allowed until March 2016, and listings here show homes from 1991 and 2006 on cesspools. Your permit records or a pumping company can confirm what you have.

How long does an install take up here?

It depends on the design, the permits and the weather. DOH has to approve the plans before we dig and issue an approval to use before the system goes into service.