25% U.S. Population
31M Households
In low density and rural areas, centralized sewage systems are often expensive to install and maintain. In fact, about 25% of Americans, or 31 million households, rely on onsite systems, like septic, for sanitation. Many onsite systems have limited capabilities and can easily fail, resulting in contamination of aquifers and coastlines.
Wastewater management on islands is especially challenging due to the high cost and fragility of centralized infrastructure and geological conditions that limit conventional septic systems. As a result, U.S. Pacific islands often rely on cesspools—a primitive, untreated form of wastewater disposal. In Hawaiʻi alone, more than 83,000 cesspools pose a persistent hazard, contaminating aquifers and coastal waters with nutrients and pathogens that harm fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs.
Centralized wastewater systems are expensive and inflexible, relying on aging infrastructure poorly suited to rapid change and population growth. Conventional onsite systems, such as septic tanks, are similarly limited by performance and rigid site requirements. Together, these shortcomings point to the need for a new class of advanced decentralized sanitation technologies, particularly for island communities. Adaptive Decentralized Wastewater Infrastructure Solutions (ADWIS) offer flexible, scalable service for individual homes or small clusters through a micro-cluster model.
The metaphor of “island communities” captures the core water and sanitation challenges facing the most rural areas. Physical islands—and similarly isolated mainland communities—face high costs, limited access to materials and expertise, and insufficient population or funding to support conventional wastewater systems. As a result, unsafe sewage disposal remains common.
Redefining wastewater treatment through decentralized, intelligent, and sustainable design.
Honu Hub introduces an adaptive decentralized wastewater infrastructure system (ADWIS) serving small residential and decentralized cluster applications. Its bioinspired design and advanced membrane filtration enable safe on-site water recycling. Leveraging automation, remote monitoring, and machine learning, Honu Hub ensures reliable and efficient operation across distributed systems. Fully energy independent, it operates off-grid using solar or other renewable sources, promoting a localized, circular approach to water management.
Nitrogen Removal
Water Recycling
Automation & Remote Monitoring
Energy Independence
Honu is part of the National Science Foundation Directorate for Technology, Innovation, and Partnerships (TIP): Future Water Systems.
Honu is an interdisciplinary research group formed by leading academics at the University of South Florida and the University of Hawaii as well as environmental innovators from Swiftwater Solutions (SWS) and Water Alternatives & Innovations (WAI).
25%
U.S. Population
31M Households
In low density and rural areas, centralized sewage systems are often expensive to install and maintain. In fact, about 25% of Americans, or 31 million households, rely on onsite systems, like septic, for sanitation. Many onsite systems have limited capabilities and can easily fail, resulting in contamination of aquifers and coastlines.
Wastewater management on islands is especially challenging due to the high cost and fragility of centralized infrastructure and geological conditions that limit conventional septic systems. As a result, U.S. Pacific islands often rely on cesspools—a primitive, untreated form of wastewater disposal. In Hawaiʻi alone, more than 83,000 cesspools pose a persistent hazard, contaminating aquifers and coastal waters with nutrients and pathogens that harm fragile ecosystems such as coral reefs.
Centralized wastewater systems are expensive and inflexible, relying on aging infrastructure poorly suited to rapid change and population growth. Conventional onsite systems, such as septic tanks, are similarly limited by performance and rigid site requirements. Together, these shortcomings point to the need for a new class of advanced decentralized sanitation technologies, particularly for island communities. Adaptive Decentralized Wastewater Infrastructure Solutions (ADWIS) offer flexible, scalable service for individual homes or small clusters through a micro-cluster model.
The metaphor of “island communities” captures the core water and sanitation challenges facing the most rural areas. Physical islands—and similarly isolated mainland communities—face high costs, limited access to materials and expertise, and insufficient population or funding to support conventional wastewater systems. As a result, unsafe sewage disposal remains common.
Nitrogen Removal
Water Recycling
Automation & Remote Monitoring
Energy Independence
Honu is an interdisciplinary research group formed by leading academics at the University of South Florida and the University of Hawaii as well as environmental innovators from Swiftwater Solutions (SWS) and Water Alternatives & Innovations (WAI).
