Photo: Drew Jacksich from San Jose, CA, The Republic of California · CC BY 2.0Living in Mescal, AZ: what to set up and who to call
Mescal has no town government of its own, so Cochise County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Benson Unified School District. Tap water in most of Mescal comes from Mescal Lakes Water System, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result below detection.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Mescal, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Mescal.
Power comes from Sulphur Springs Valley E C
Sulphur Springs Valley E C (Sulphur Springs Valley E C Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Mescal. Its homes paid an average of 14.6¢ per kWh in 2025, about $107 a month (its average across Arizona).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Mescal Lakes Water System
Mescal Lakes Water System supplies Mescal: about 67% of residents live in its service area. Empirita Water Company serves another 9%. About 24% 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 1,390 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. AZ0402052.
Which providers serve Mescal
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Mescal, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.
Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.
We don’t have Mescal’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Mescal.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Mescal is in Benson Unified School District.
B+School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
Mescal is unincorporated, so Cochise County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Mescal is in ZIP code 85602
ZIP codes where Mescal residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Mescal | ZIP’s residents in Mescal |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85602 | Benson, AZ | 100% | 17% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
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 Mescal
Who supplies Mescal’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Mescal Lakes Water System (EPA ID AZ0402052). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Mescal?
Sulphur Springs Valley E C (Sulphur Springs Valley E C Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 14.6¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Mescal?
85602. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Mescal in?
Benson Unified School District.
How do I register to vote in Mescal?
In Arizona you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before). Elections here are run by the Cochise County Recorder. Check your registration at my.arizona.vote.
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 Sep 12, 2025 (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): pending.