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The Portage Township handbook

Living in Portage Township, MI: what to set up and who to call

Mack. Co. Housing-Curtis reported one health-based violation to EPA in the last five years: a lead and copper treatment requirement (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions), beginning Oct 2024. Power in Portage Township comes from Cloverland Electric Co-op, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Portage Township, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Portage Township.

Electricity

Power comes from Cloverland Electric Co-op

Cloverland Electric Co-op (Cloverland Electric Co-op), a cooperative utility, serves all of Portage Township. 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.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Mack. Co. Housing-Curtis

Mack. Co. Housing-Curtis supplies Portage Township: about 10% of residents live in its service area. About 90% 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 50 people in all.

1 health-based violation reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026: a lead and copper treatment requirement (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions), beginning Oct 2024. 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people had none.

Lead, 90th percentile4.6 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 4.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 88% 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. MI0001692.

Internet

3 home internet providers serve Portage Township

100% of 1,299 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
Highline InternetFiber99%1,000/1,000
SpectrumCable, Fiber46%1,000/1,000
VerizonFixed wireless10%300/20

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Portage Township’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Portage Township.

Trash, recycling and bulk pickupNot on fileOpenStreetMap lists no public drop-off in Portage Township or within 5 miles (as of Oct 9, 2026); map coverage varies by town.
Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Portage Township kids go to
PK–12Newberry Area Schoolin Newberry

Most of Portage Township (92%) is in Tahquamenon Area Schools; parts are in Engadine Consolidated Schools (8%).

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.

Government & voting

Town hall and registering to vote

Who to call, and how to register.

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Oct 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.

ZIP codes & area codes

Portage Township spans 5 ZIP codes

ZIP codes where Portage Township residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of Portage TownshipZIP’s residents in Portage Township
49836Germfask, MI46%45%
49820Curtis, MI34%100%
49838Gould City, MI8%15%
49853Mc Millan, MI8%5%
49827Engadine, MI6%5%

49081 is P.O. box or single-organization ZIP with no homes.

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

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 Portage Township

Who supplies Portage Township’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Mack. Co. Housing-Curtis (EPA ID MI0001692). It reported 1 health-based violation to EPA in the five years to October 2026: a lead and copper treatment requirement (Lead and Copper Rule Revisions). 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 4.6 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Portage Township?

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 Portage Township?

Highline Internet, Spectrum, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Portage Township?

49836 (46%), 49820 (34%), 49838 (8%), 49853 (8%), 49827 (6%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Portage Township in?

Tahquamenon Area Schools. Parts of the city are in Engadine Consolidated Schools.

How do I register to vote in Portage Township?

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 Portage 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.