Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Living in La Plata, MD: what to set up and who to call
Power in La Plata comes from Southern Maryland Elec Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. University of MD Charles Regional Medical Center, 1 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in La Plata, 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 La Plata.
Power comes from Southern Maryland Elec Coop
Southern Maryland Elec Coop (Southern Maryland Elec Coop Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of La Plata. Its homes paid an average of 16.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $192 a month (its average across Maryland, for customers on its standard service). Maryland lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of Southern Maryland Elec Coop’s home customers do, and Southern Maryland Elec Coop still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Town of La Plata water system
The Town of La Plata water system supplies almost all of La Plata. It draws ground water and serves 11,535 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2021–Dec 2023, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. MD0080025.
4 home internet providers serve La Plata
100% of 3,836 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 91% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 98% | 2,000/250 |
| Verizon | Fiber, Fixed wireless | 97% | 2,300/2,300 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 50% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 44% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in La Plata depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in La Plata, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayFind your street’s day on townoflaplata.org →
- Bulky itemsOnce a month, Mon
Accepted at the curb
- Aluminum food and beverage containers
- Glass food and beverage containers - brown, clear, or green
- Ferrous (Iron) cans
- PET plastic containers with the symbol #1 - narrow neck containers only
- Plastics with symbols #3, #4, #5, #6, #7 - narrow and screw top containers
- Newsprint
- Old corrugated cardboard
- Magazines
- Catalogs
- Cereal boxes
- Printer paper
- Copier paper
From townoflaplata.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2026-09-27. 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.
La Plata is in Charles County Public Schools.
CSchool 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 Mar 2018; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Mar 11, 2026.
La Plata is in ZIP code 20646
ZIP codes where La Plata residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of La Plata | ZIP’s residents in La Plata |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20646 | La Plata, MD | 100% | 50% |
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 La Plata
Who supplies La Plata’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Town of La Plata water system (EPA ID MD0080025). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2021–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in La Plata?
Southern Maryland Elec Coop (Southern Maryland Elec Coop Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 16.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve La Plata?
Xfinity, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in La Plata?
20646. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is La Plata in?
Charles County Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in La Plata?
In Maryland you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 21 days before). Elections here are run by the Charles County Board of Elections. Check your registration at voterservices.elections.maryland.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: La Plata’s own website (townoflaplata.org), read Oct 21, 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 Mar 11, 2026 (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.