Photo: Kritzolina · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Highland Lakes, NJ: what to set up and who to call
Highland Lakes has no town government of its own, so Sussex County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Vernon Township School District. The closest public drop-off to Highland Lakes is Vernon Township Recycling Center, 2 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Highland Lakes, 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 Highland Lakes.
Power comes from JCP&L
JCP&L (Jersey Central Power & Light Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Highland Lakes. Its homes paid an average of 18.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $145 a month (its average across New Jersey, for customers on its standard service). New Jersey lets you buy power from another supplier; 9% of JCP&L’s home customers do, and JCP&L still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Veolia Water New Jersey Highland Lakes
Veolia Water New Jersey Highland Lakes supplies Highland Lakes: about 70% of residents live in its service area. Hidden Village Condo Association serves another 8%. About 21% 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 88 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 2023–Dec 2025, was 4.2 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 87% 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. NJ1922017.
6 home internet providers serve Highland Lakes
100% of 2,370 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alteva Of Warwick | DSL, Fiber | 100% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Optimum | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 940/35 |
| Planet Networks | Fiber | 98% | 10,000/10,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 28% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 25% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 9% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
The nearest public drop-off is 2 miles away
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Highland Lakes.
Vernon Township Recycling Center
· run by Vernon Township Public Works
This isn’t Highland Lakes’ own facility. Whether Highland Lakes residents may use it is the town’s rule: check the town’s office.
OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Highland Lakes is in Vernon Township 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
Highland Lakes is unincorporated, so Sussex County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2017; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Highland Lakes spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Highland Lakes residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Highland Lakes | ZIP’s residents in Highland Lakes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 07422 | Highland Lakes, NJ | 90% | 69% |
| 07462 | Vernon, NJ | 10% | 7% |
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 Highland Lakes
Who supplies Highland Lakes’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
Veolia Water New Jersey Highland Lakes (EPA ID NJ1922017). 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 4.2 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Highland Lakes?
JCP&L (Jersey Central Power & Light Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 18.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Highland Lakes?
Alteva Of Warwick, Optimum, Planet Networks, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Highland Lakes?
07422 (90%), 07462 (10%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Highland Lakes in?
Vernon Township School District.
How do I register to vote in Highland Lakes?
In New Jersey you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person until 21 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 21 days before). Elections here are run by the Sussex County Clerk. Check your registration at voter.svrs.nj.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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.