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Kilauea Lodge Volcano Hawaii 2021Photo: Larry D. Moore · CC BY 4.0
The Volcano handbook

Living in Volcano, HI: what to set up and who to call

Volcano has no town government of its own, so Hawaii County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Hawaii Department of Education. Hawaii Volcanoes Nat.park has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 9.0 ppb, was higher than 98% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15).

Volcano has no town government. It’s a census-designated place in Hawaii County, so the county and regional agencies provide most services. This page answers what we can; the same answers appear on Volcano’s town page under “Getting set up”.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Volcano, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Volcano.

Electricity

Power comes from Hawaii Electric Light Co

Hawaii Electric Light Co (Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Volcano. Its homes paid an average of 45.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $206 a month (its average across Hawaii).

Start or move service: hawaiielectriclight.com · (808) 969-6999

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Hawaii Volcanoes Nat.park

Hawaii Volcanoes Nat.park supplies Volcano: about 46% of residents live in its service area. About 54% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 4,201 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.

Lead, 90th percentile9.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2019–Dec 2021, was 9.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 98% of similar systems’ latest results.

The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report

EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. HI0000146.

Internet

3 home internet providers serve Volcano

89% of 612 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 1% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
SpectrumCable, Fiber89%1,000/1,000
Hawaiian TelcomDSL12%25/3
T-MobileFixed wireless14%100/20

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

The nearest public drop-off is 3 miles away

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Volcano.

Nearest public drop-off · 3.2 mi from the center of Volcano

Volcano Solid Waste Transfer Station

19-3438 Volcano Road, Volcano, HI, 96785 · run by County of Hawai‘i Department of Environmental Management

This isn’t Volcano’s own facility. Whether Volcano residents may use it is the town’s rule: check the town’s office.

OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Volcano kids go to
PK–5178 elementary schoolsDepends on your address
6–854 middle schoolsDepends on your address
9–1245 high schoolsDepends on your address

Volcano is in Hawaii Department of Education.

Test scores and every school: see Schools →

U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.

Government & voting

No town hall: the county runs things

Volcano is unincorporated, so Hawaii County is the local government.

Local governmentHawaii CountyVolcano is a census-designated place: no town hall of its ownCensus
Who runs elections hereHawaii County ClerkElections here are run by Hawaii County (county election office). Its listing was last updated in 2015, so we don’t show its contacts: check olvr.hawaii.gov.FVAP, Aug 2015
Register to voteOnlineIn Hawaii you can register online up to and including Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 10 days before).vote.govCheck your registration and polling placeolvr.hawaii.govThe state’s voter lookup

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2015; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Volcano is in ZIP code 96785

ZIP codes where Volcano residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of VolcanoZIP’s residents in Volcano
96785Volcano, HI100%18%
Area code808Wikidata

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

Getting around, the ER and the library

One line each; the subject pages have the rest.

ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

Questions about living in Volcano

Who supplies Volcano’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Hawaii Volcanoes Nat.park (EPA ID HI0000146). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 9.0 ppb (Jan 2019–Dec 2021), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Volcano?

Hawaii Electric Light Co (Hawaii Electric Light Co Inc), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 45.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Volcano?

Spectrum, Hawaiian Telcom, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Volcano?

96785. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Volcano in?

Hawaii Department of Education.

How do I register to vote in Volcano?

In Hawaii you can register online up to and including Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 10 days before). Elections here are run by the Hawaii County Clerk. Check your registration at olvr.hawaii.gov.

Sources & dates

Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.

  • Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
  • Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
  • Trash: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
  • ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
  • Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
  • Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
  • Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
  • Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.