Living in Heron, MT: what to set up and who to call
Heron has no town government of its own, so Sanders County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Noxon Elementary School District. Power in Heron comes from Northern Lights, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Heron, 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 Heron.
Power comes from Northern Lights
Northern Lights (Northern Lights, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Heron. Its homes paid an average of 13.1¢ per kWh in 2025, about $118 a month (its average across Montana).
Start or move service: nli.coop · (208) 263-5141
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Heron Community Water System
Heron Community Water System supplies Heron: about 13% of residents live in its service area. About 87% 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 84 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 2024–Dec 2026, 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. MT0000247.
Which providers serve Heron
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Heron, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.
Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.
We don’t have Heron’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Heron.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Heron is in two districts that split the grades: Noxon Elementary School District and Noxon High 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.
No town hall: the county runs things
Heron is unincorporated, so Sanders County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jan 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Heron is in ZIP code 59844
ZIP codes where Heron residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Heron | ZIP’s residents in Heron |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59844 | Heron, MT | 100% | 26% |
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 Heron
Who supplies Heron’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Heron Community Water System (EPA ID MT0000247). 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 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Heron?
Northern Lights (Northern Lights, Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 13.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Heron?
59844. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Heron in?
Noxon Elementary School District and Noxon High School District.
How do I register to vote in Heron?
Montana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Sanders County Election Administrator. Check your registration at prodvoterportal.mt.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: 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 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): pending.