Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Russell, MA: what to set up and who to call
Russell has its own drop-off, Russell Town Transfer Station. Russell runs its own elections, so the Russell Town Clerk, not a county office, keeps the voter rolls.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Russell, 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 Russell.
Power comes from Eversource
Eversource (NSTAR Electric Co., doing business as Eversource), an investor-owned utility, serves 68.4% of Russell residents. Its homes paid an average of 21.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Massachusetts, for customers on its standard service). Massachusetts lets you buy power from another supplier; 76% of Eversource’s home customers do, and Eversource still delivers it.
Start or move service: nstar.com · (800) 592-2000
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Russell Water Dept
Russell Water Dept supplies Russell: about 0% of residents live in its service area. About 100% 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 1,228 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2019–Dec 2021, was 3.7 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 87% 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. MA1256000.
4 home internet providers serve Russell
94% of 664 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 1% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 95% | 2,000/250 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 46% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 28% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 22% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Russell
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Russell, from the town’s own site.
Town of Russell Transfer Station
- Wed10 am–4 pm, 6 pm–8 pm
- Sat8 am–4 pm
Accepted at the curb
- Newspapers (including inserts)
- Magazines, phone books, books with covers removed, catalogs
- Mixed papers, envelopes with window plastic removed
- Corrugated cardboard (flattened)
- Brown paper bags
- All unbroken, rinsed glass containers
- Tin, steel & aluminum cans and lids
- Aluminum foil & trays
- Milk & Juice cartons
- All household plastic containers #1 - 6
From townofrussell.us, the town’s official site, checked Oct 22, 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Russell is in Gateway School District.
C−School gradeSee 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 Nov 18, 2024.
Russell spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Russell residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Russell | ZIP’s residents in Russell |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01071 | Russell, MA | 90% | 100% |
| 01097 | Woronoco, MA | 8% | 100% |
| 01050 | Huntington, MA | 2% | 1% |
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 Russell
Who supplies Russell’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Russell Water Dept (EPA ID MA1256000). 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 3.7 ppb (Jan 2019–Dec 2021), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Russell?
Eversource (NSTAR Electric Co., doing business as Eversource), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 21.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Russell?
Xfinity, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Russell?
01071 (90%), 01097 (8%), 01050 (2%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Russell in?
Gateway School District.
How do I register to vote in Russell?
In Massachusetts you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 10 days before). Elections here are run by the Russell Town Clerk. Check your registration at sec.state.ma.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: Russell’s own website (townofrussell.us), read Oct 22, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- 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.