Living in Alturas, FL: what to set up and who to call
Alturas has no town government of its own, so Polk County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Polk County School District. The nearest library is Lake Wales Public Library (Polk County Library Cooperative), 7.2 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Alturas, 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 Alturas.
Power comes from Duke Energy
Duke Energy (Duke Energy Florida, LLC), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Alturas. Its homes paid an average of 18.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $185 a month (its average across Florida).
Start or move service: progress-energy.com · (800) 700-8744
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from City of Fort Meade water system
The City of Fort Meade water system supplies Alturas: about 9% of residents live in its service area. Winter Haven Water Department serves another 9%. About 66% 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 5,455 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–Dec 2023, was 1.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 61% 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. FL6530320.
6 home internet providers serve Alturas
88% of 1,913 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 48% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Fiber, Cable | 52% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Xfinity | Cable | 43% | 1,200/35 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 83% | 300/20 |
| MORnetCommunicationsLLC | Fixed wireless | 34% | 25/10 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 23% | 25/3 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 18% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Alturas’ trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Alturas.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Alturas is in Polk County School District.
DSchool 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
Alturas is unincorporated, so Polk County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated May 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 17, 2025.
Alturas spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Alturas residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Alturas | ZIP’s residents in Alturas |
|---|---|---|---|
| 33830 | Bartow, FL | 59% | 8% |
| 33859 | Lake Wales, FL | 29% | 11% |
| 33841 | Fort Meade, FL | 12% | 7% |
33820 is P.O. box or single-organization ZIP with no homes.
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 Alturas
Who supplies Alturas’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
The City of Fort Meade water system (EPA ID FL6530320). 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 1.6 ppb (Jan–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Alturas?
Duke Energy (Duke Energy Florida, LLC), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 18.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Alturas?
Spectrum, Xfinity, Verizon, MORnetCommunicationsLLC, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Alturas?
33830 (59%), 33859 (29%), 33841 (12%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Alturas in?
Polk County School District.
How do I register to vote in Alturas?
In Florida 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 Polk Supervisor of Elections. Check your registration at registration.elections.myflorida.com.
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 17, 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.