Big Island Dairy officials say steps are being taken to reduce the possibility of future wastewater discharges at the Ookala facility.
Residents of Ookala have complained for several years about releases of manure-laden water into nearby gulches that run through or next to the community.
A discharge in May released nearly 2.3 million gallons of rain and wastewater during a period of three days, and in August, heavy rain from Hurricane Lane caused a wastewater pond at the dairy to overflow, sending more untreated effluent into a nearby gulch.
General manager Steve Manning, who took the helm in April, said the dairy has “already done a lot to prevent future spills or future discharges.”
Big Island Dairy reduced the number of cows it is milking “significantly” to help maintain the wastewater lagoon levels, he said.
And the facility no longer has a heifer development station above the dairy, which means that water or manure waste is no longer entering the lagoon system. Removing that waste relieves pressure on the lagoons, Manning said.
According to Manning, the dairy also installed a pump system and hose to carry lagoon water above the dairy to fertilize pastures there. Manning said the amount of waste material going into the lagoon has been reduced by nearly 50 percent.
Big Island Dairy also is using products from Aqua Natural Solutions to help with odor control, “which we feel it’s helping dramatically” and that Manning said will help break down solid material and sludge buildup in the lagoon system.
Manning said Big Island Dairy has been implementing these products for four months and can tell a difference with the odor.
“How it’s doing in the lagoons, time will tell that.”
County Council Chairwoman Valerie Poindexter, who is the District 1 council representative, however, said she received calls from residents complaining about the smell in recent days, which she reported to the dairy.
“Smell is still an issue,” she said. “We thought they had the smell under control. They bought something to treat the effluent ponds. For a little while, we thought it was handled, (but) the smell came right back again.”
Prior to the discharges earlier this year, the dairy was fined $25,000 in 2017 for an unlawful discharge and a lawsuit was field in federal court alleging violations of the federal Clean Water Act.
State Department of Health spokeswoman Janice Okubo said the DOH continues to monitor the dairy.
