Living in Bear Grove Township, IL: what to set up and who to call
The Vandalia Correctional Center water system has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 15.0 ppb, was higher than 99% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15). Fayette County Hospital, 5.7 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Bear Grove Township, 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 Bear Grove Township.
Power comes from Ameren Illinois Company
Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois Company), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Bear Grove Township. Its homes paid an average of 16.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $148 a month (its average across Illinois, for customers on its standard service). Illinois lets you buy power from another supplier; 45% of Ameren Illinois Company’s home customers do, and Ameren Illinois Company still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Vandalia Correctional Center water system
The Vandalia Correctional Center water system supplies Bear Grove Township: about 1% of residents live in its service area. About 99% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Vandalia as seller) and serves 700 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2019–Dec 2021, was 15.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 99% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IL0515500.
Which providers serve Bear Grove Township
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Bear Grove Township, 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 Bear Grove Township’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Bear Grove Township.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Bear Grove Township (82%) is in Vandalia Community Unit School District 203; parts are in Mulberry Grove Community Unit School District 1 (18%).
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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Bear Grove Township spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Bear Grove Township residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Bear Grove Township | ZIP’s residents in Bear Grove Township |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62471 | Vandalia, IL | 61% | 3% |
| 62262 | Mulberry Grove, IL | 39% | 14% |
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 Bear Grove Township
Who supplies Bear Grove Township’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Vandalia Correctional Center water system (EPA ID IL0515500). 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 15.0 ppb (Jan 2019–Dec 2021), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bear Grove Township?
Ameren Illinois Company (Ameren Illinois Company), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 16.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Bear Grove Township?
62471 (61%), 62262 (39%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bear Grove Township in?
Vandalia Community Unit School District 203. Parts of the city are in Mulberry Grove Community Unit School District 1.
How do I register to vote in Bear Grove Township?
In Illinois you can register online until 16 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 28 days before). Elections here are run by the Fayette County Clerk. Check your registration at ova.elections.il.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 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.