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Rico Town Hall sm973Photo: Gillfoto · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Rico handbook

Living in Rico, CO: what to set up and who to call

Power in Rico comes from San Miguel Power Assn, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. The ER is a drive from Rico: the closest is Mercy Regional Medical Center, 19.3 miles away.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Rico, 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 Rico.

Electricity

Power comes from San Miguel Power Assn

San Miguel Power Assn (San Miguel Power Assn, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Rico. Its homes paid an average of 16.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $135 a month (its average across Colorado).

Start or move service: smpa.com · (877) 864-7311

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 Town of Rico water system

The Town of Rico water system supplies almost all of Rico. It draws ground water and serves 437 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 77% of the 15,074 systems serving 101–500 people.

Lead, 90th percentile4.6 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2023, was 4.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 89% 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. CO0117700.

Internet

1 home internet providers serve Rico

96% of 245 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 96% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
Rico Telephone CompanyFiber95%1,000/1,000

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

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Rico’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Rico.

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Rico kids go to
PK–5Dove Creek Elementary Schoolin Dove Creek
6–12Dove Creek High Schoolin Dove Creek

Rico is in Dolores County School District RE-2.

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

Town hall and registering to vote

Who to call, and how to register.

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Rico is in ZIP code 81332

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of RicoZIP’s residents in Rico
81332Rico, CO100%97%
Area code970Wikidata

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 Rico

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

The Town of Rico water system (EPA ID CO0117700). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 77% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 4.6 ppb (Jan–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Rico?

San Miguel Power Assn (San Miguel Power Assn, Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 16.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Rico?

Rico Telephone Company (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Rico?

81332. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Rico in?

Dolores County School District RE-2.

How do I register to vote in Rico?

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 Dolores 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.