“He described the smell as being horrific”

He and a few colleagues visited the scene soon after and noticed that a storm drain that poked out from underneath the freeway expelled the water down a cliff and into the stream. On the other side of the busy street was a warehouse for one of the state’s largest distributors of alcohol and liquor, he said.

Cox reported the findings to government officials, who identified the source as Paradise Beverages, according to emails reviewed by The Post.

The company is cooperating, Anthony Rowe, the distributor’s director of operations, told Hawaii News Now, which first reported the contamination last week.

“It may be coming from us so that’s why we’re working with the proper authorities,” Rowe said.

Hawaii News Now tested the stream water’s alcohol level. It was 1.2 percent.