Wahiawā is a census-designated place and town located more or less in the center of Oʻahu Island, on the plateau or "central valley" between the two volcanic mountains that comprise the island. It is in the small, Wahiawa District and the City & County of Honolulu. In Hawaiian, wahi a wā means "place of noise", perhaps a reference to the fact that once upon a time, heavy surf on the distant coast could be heard here. As of the 2000 Census, the CDP had a total population of 16,151.
Lakes and reservoirs are rare in Hawaiʻi, and Wahiawā is at once unique in being surrounded on three sides by Lake Wilson (also known as Wahiawā Reservoir or Kaukonahua). The town must be accessed by either of two bridges on Kamehameha Highway (State Rte. 80) across the narrow north and south arms of the reservoir. Outside of the reservoir, the town used to be surrounded by military bases and agricultural fields, but development is making its way up from the increasingly urbanized southern portion of the central plain. Still, there are significant U.S. Army facilities here, including Schofield Barracks, Wheeler Army Airfield, and East Range, an Army training area extending into the hills south and east of town. Schofield Barracks alone is larger than Wahiawā.
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