Ōōkala (also spelled Ookala) is an
unincorporated community on the island of Hawaii in
Hawaii County,
Hawaii,
United States. It lies along
Hawaii Route 19
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
north of
Hilo
Hilo () is a census-designated place (CDP) and the largest settlement in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States, which encompasses the Hawaii (island), Island of Hawaii. The population was 44,186 according to the 2020 United ...
, the
county seat of Hawaii County. Its elevation is 371 feet (113 m), and it is located at (20.0175000, -155.2872222). Because the community has borne multiple names, the
Board on Geographic Names officially designated it "Ōōkala" in 2000. It has a
post office with the
ZIP code 96774.
The community was in the news after the
Hawaii Department of Health warned that the gulch near the community had contaminated water. This was the result of waste from a nearby dairy draining into the water. 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.
References
Unincorporated communities in Hawaii County, Hawaii
Populated places on Hawaii (island)
Unincorporated communities in Hawaii
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