Living in Hardwood Acres, MI: what to set up and who to call
Hardwood Acres has no town government of its own, so Benzie County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Traverse City Area Public Schools. Tap water in most of Hardwood Acres comes from the Buena Vista Estates water system, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 1.0 ppb.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Hardwood Acres, 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 Hardwood Acres.
Power comes from DTE
DTE (DTE Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Hardwood Acres. Its homes paid an average of 20.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $126 a month (its average across Michigan, for customers on its standard service). Michigan lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of DTE’s home customers do, and DTE still delivers it.
Start or move service: www.dteenergy.com · (800) 477-4747
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Buena Vista Estates water system
The Buena Vista Estates water system supplies Hardwood Acres: about 56% of residents live in its service area. About 44% 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 79 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2021–Dec 2023, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 55% 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. MI0040051.
3 home internet providers serve Hardwood Acres
98% of 156 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable | 98% | 1,000/35 |
| Brightspeed | DSL | 3% | 40/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 17% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Hardwood Acres’ trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Hardwood Acres.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Hardwood Acres (78%) is in Traverse City Area Public Schools; parts are in Benzie County Central School (22%).
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.
No town hall: the county runs things
Hardwood Acres is unincorporated, so Benzie County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Hardwood Acres is in ZIP code 49650
ZIP codes where Hardwood Acres residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Hardwood Acres | ZIP’s residents in Hardwood Acres |
|---|---|---|---|
| 49650 | Lake Ann, MI | 100% | 12% |
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 Hardwood Acres
Who supplies Hardwood Acres’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Buena Vista Estates water system (EPA ID MI0040051). 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 1.0 ppb (Jan 2021–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Hardwood Acres?
DTE (DTE Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 20.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Hardwood Acres?
Spectrum, Brightspeed, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Hardwood Acres?
49650. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Hardwood Acres in?
Traverse City Area Public Schools. Parts of the city are in Benzie County Central School.
How do I register to vote in Hardwood Acres?
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 Almira 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.