Photo: Rklawton · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Garden, MI: what to set up and who to call
Tap water in most of Garden comes from the Garden water system, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 23% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 0.7 ppb. Power in Garden comes from Cloverland Electric Co-op, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Garden, 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 Garden.
Power comes from Cloverland Electric Co-op
Cloverland Electric Co-op (Cloverland Electric Co-op), a cooperative utility, serves all of Garden. Its homes paid an average of 14.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $101 a month (its average across Michigan).
Start or move service: www.cloverland.com · (906) 635-6800
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Garden water system
The Garden water system supplies Garden: about 74% of residents live in its service area. About 26% 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 270 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.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 0.7 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 52% 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. MI0002540.
3 home internet providers serve Garden
99% of 158 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 86% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highline Internet | Fiber | 87% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 84% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 13% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Garden’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Garden.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Garden is in Big Bay de Noc School District.
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 Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Garden is in ZIP code 49835
ZIP codes where Garden residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Garden | ZIP’s residents in Garden |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49835 | Garden, MI | 100% | 22% |
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 Garden
Who supplies Garden’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Garden water system (EPA ID MI0002540). 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 0.7 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Garden?
Cloverland Electric Co-op (Cloverland Electric Co-op), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 14.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Garden?
Highline Internet, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Garden?
49835. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Garden in?
Big Bay de Noc School District.
How do I register to vote in Garden?
In Michigan you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Garden Township Clerk. Check your registration at mvic.sos.state.mi.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 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.