Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0Living in Black Forest, CO: what to set up and who to call
Black Forest has no town government of its own, so El Paso County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Academy School District 20. Colorado Springs Utilities has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 5.7 ppb, was higher than 90% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15).
I’m new in town
What to set up in Black Forest, 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 Black Forest.
Power comes from Mountain View Elec Assn
Mountain View Elec Assn (Mountain View Elec Assn, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Black Forest. Its homes paid an average of 15.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $137 a month (its average across Colorado).
Start or move service: www.mvea.coop · (719) 495-2283
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Colorado Springs Utilities
Colorado Springs Utilities supplies Black Forest: about 7% of residents live in its service area. Park Forest serves another 7%. About 78% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water (EPA lists Fountain Valley Authority as seller) and serves 464,111 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 84 systems serving 250,001–500,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 5.7 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 6.8 ppb. 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. CO0121150.
12 home internet providers serve Black Forest
99% of 5,984 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 79% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conexon Connect | Fiber | 58% | 2,000/2,000 |
| CenturyLink | DSL, Fiber | 54% | 100/10 |
| Force Broadband | Fiber, Fixed wireless | 53% | 9,200/9,200 |
| Xfinity | Cable | 19% | 2,000/250 |
| StratusIQ | Fiber | 16% | 10,000/10,000 |
| Quantum Fiber | Fiber | 4% | 2,000/1,000 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Black Forest’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Black Forest.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Black Forest (39%) is in Academy School District 20; parts are in Lewis-Palmer School District 38 (34%) and School District 49 (23%) and Peyton School District 23-JT (4%).
A−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
Black Forest is unincorporated, so El Paso 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 Nov 18, 2024.
Black Forest spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Black Forest residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Black Forest | ZIP’s residents in Black Forest |
|---|---|---|---|
| 80908 | Colorado Springs, CO | 90% | 60% |
| 80106 | Elbert, CO | 10% | 33% |
A few homes fall in 80921.
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 Black Forest
Who supplies Black Forest’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Colorado Springs Utilities (EPA ID CO0121150). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 5.7 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Black Forest?
Mountain View Elec Assn (Mountain View Elec Assn, Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 15.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Black Forest?
Conexon Connect, CenturyLink, Force Broadband, Xfinity, StratusIQ, Quantum Fiber (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Black Forest?
80908 (90%), 80106 (10%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Black Forest in?
Academy School District 20. Parts of the city are in Lewis-Palmer School District 38 and School District 49 and Peyton School District 23-JT.
How do I register to vote in Black Forest?
In Colorado you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 8 days before). Elections here are run by the El Paso County Clerk and Recorder. Check your registration at sos.state.co.us.
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.