Sugar Pine Point State Park · Photo: DimiTalen · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Tahoma, CA: what to set up and who to call
Tahoma has no town government of its own, so El Dorado County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District. Optimum is the only wired internet provider that reaches most of Tahoma.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Tahoma, 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 Tahoma.
Power comes from Liberty Utilities
Liberty Utilities (Liberty Utilities), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Tahoma. Its homes paid an average of 27.6¢ per kWh in 2025, about $141 a month (its average across California).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Tahoe City PUD - Main water system
The Tahoe City PUD - Main water system supplies Tahoma: about 52% of residents live in its service area. About 48% 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 5,661 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.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 4.4 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 90% 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. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. CA3110010.
3 home internet providers serve Tahoma
97% of 1,761 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Optimum | Cable | 98% | 940/35 |
| AT&T | DSL, Fixed wireless | 22% | 25/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 60% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Tahoma’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Tahoma.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Tahoma is in Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District.
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.
No town hall: the county runs things
Tahoma is unincorporated, so El Dorado County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Mar 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Tahoma spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Tahoma residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Tahoma | ZIP’s residents in Tahoma |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96142 | Tahoma, CA | 77% | 82% |
| 96141 | Homewood, CA | 23% | 39% |
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 Tahoma
Who supplies Tahoma’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Tahoe City PUD - Main water system (EPA ID CA3110010). 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 4.4 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Tahoma?
Liberty Utilities (Liberty Utilities), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 27.6¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Tahoma?
Optimum, AT&T, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Tahoma?
96142 (77%), 96141 (23%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Tahoma in?
Tahoe-Truckee Unified School District.
How do I register to vote in Tahoma?
In California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before). Elections here are run by the El Dorado Registrar of Voters. Check your registration at voterstatus.sos.ca.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.