ʻŌʻōkala, Hawaii

ʻŌʻōkala (also spelled Ookala) is an unincorporated community on the island of Hawaiʻi in Hawaiʻi County, Hawaii, United States. It lies along Hawaii Route 19 north of Hilo, the county seat of Hawaiʻi County.[1] Its elevation is 371 feet (113 m), and it is located at 20°1′3″N 155°17′14″W / 20.01750°N 155.28722°W / 20.01750; -155.28722 (20.0175000, -155.2872222). Because the community has borne multiple names, the Board on Geographic Names officially designated it "ʻŌʻōkala" in 2000.[2] It has a post office with the ZIP code 96774.[3]

The community was in the news after the Hawaii Department of Health warned that the gulch near the community had contaminated water.[4] This was the result of waste from a nearby dairy draining into the water.[5] More recently the company, Big Island Dairy, has agreed to cease operations, to pay a fine and to remediate environmental concerns to prevent future waste water releases into nearby gulches by June 2019.[6]

References

  1. ^ Rand McNally. The Road Atlas '08. Chicago: Rand McNally, 2008, p. 30.
  2. ^ Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report, Geographic Names Information System, 2003-09-30. Accessed 2008-04-08.
  3. ^ USPS – Cities by ZIP Code
  4. ^ "WARNING: Contaminated Water in Gulch Near ʻŌʻōkala". Big Island Now. April 13, 2018.
  5. ^ "Warning Issued in O'okala After Dairy's Waste Spills into Gulch".
  6. ^ Salmons, Stephanie (March 29, 2019). "DOH, Big Island Dairy sign consent agreement". Hawaii Tribune Herald. Retrieved April 26, 2019.


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