Living in Bidwell, OH: what to set up and who to call
Bidwell has no town government of its own, so Gallia County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Gallia County Local School District. For a library card, the closest branch is Dr. Samuel L. Bossard Memorial Library, 8.9 miles out.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Bidwell, 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 Bidwell.
Power comes from AEP Ohio
AEP Ohio (Ohio Power Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Bidwell. Its homes paid an average of 19.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $179 a month (its average across Ohio, for customers on its standard service). Ohio lets you buy power from another supplier; 60% of AEP Ohio’s home customers do, and AEP Ohio still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Gallia Co Rural Water Association
Gallia Co Rural Water Association supplies Bidwell: about 29% of residents live in its service area. About 71% 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 20,995 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2025, was 1.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 3.1 ppb. That’s higher than 62% 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. OH2700012.
Which providers serve Bidwell
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Bidwell, 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 Bidwell’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Bidwell.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Bidwell is in Gallia County Local 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
Bidwell is unincorporated, so Gallia County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Bidwell spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Bidwell residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Bidwell | ZIP’s residents in Bidwell |
|---|---|---|---|
| 45614 | Bidwell, OH | 83% | 15% |
| 45686 | Vinton, OH | 17% | 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 Bidwell
Who supplies Bidwell’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Gallia Co Rural Water Association (EPA ID OH2700012). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.8 ppb (Jan–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bidwell?
AEP Ohio (Ohio Power Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 19.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Bidwell?
45614 (83%), 45686 (17%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bidwell in?
Gallia County Local School District.
How do I register to vote in Bidwell?
In Ohio you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Director, Gallia County Board of Elections. Check your registration at voterlookup.ohiosos.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 Aug 3, 2026 (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.