Photo: Andrew Filer from Seattle (ex-Minneapolis) · CC BY-SA 2.0Living in Portal Township, ND: what to set up and who to call
Portal Township spans 2 ZIP codes; 58752 holds the most residents (65%). For an emergency, Trinity Kenmare Community Hospital is the closest ER, 28.9 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Portal Township, 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 Portal Township.
Power comes from Montana-Dakota Utilities
Montana-Dakota Utilities (Montana-Dakota Utilities Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Portal Township. Its homes paid an average of 11.1¢ per kWh in 2025, about $92 a month (its average across North Dakota).
Start or move service: montana-dakota.com · (800) 638-3278
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from R & T Water System
R & T Water System supplies Portal Township: about 0% of residents live in its service area. About 100% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Western Area Water Supply Authority as seller) and serves 1,003 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 1.7 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 65% 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. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. ND5301152.
2 home internet providers serve Portal Township
100% of 11 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest Communications | Fiber | 100% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 36% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Portal Township’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Portal Township.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Portal Township is in Burke Central Public School District 36.
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 Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Jul 30, 2024.
Portal Township spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Portal Township residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Portal Township | ZIP’s residents in Portal Township |
|---|---|---|---|
| 58752 | Lignite, ND | 65% | 4% |
| 58772 | Portal, ND | 35% | 4% |
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 Portal Township
Who supplies Portal Township’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
R & T Water System (EPA ID ND5301152). 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 1.7 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Portal Township?
Montana-Dakota Utilities (Montana-Dakota Utilities Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 11.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Portal Township?
Northwest Communications, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Portal Township?
58752 (65%), 58772 (35%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Portal Township in?
Burke Central Public School District 36.
How do I register to vote in Portal Township?
North Dakota has no voter registration: you show ID at the polls. Elections here are run by the Burke County Auditor. Check your registration at vip.sos.nd.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 Jul 30, 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.