Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Living in Great Bend, PA: what to set up and who to call
Tap water in Great Bend comes from Pa Amer Water Co Susquehanna, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 20% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result below detection. Power in Great Bend comes from Claverack Rural Elec Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Great Bend, 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 Great Bend.
Power comes from Claverack Rural Elec Coop
Claverack Rural Elec Coop (Claverack Rural Elec Coop Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Great Bend. Its homes paid an average of 18.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $161 a month (its average across Pennsylvania).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Pa Amer Water Co Susquehanna
Pa Amer Water Co Susquehanna supplies almost all of Great Bend. It draws surface water and serves 4,230 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jun–Sep 2025, 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. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. PA2580024.
5 home internet providers serve Great Bend
100% of 261 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adams CATV | Fiber | 100% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 92% | 7,000/7,000 |
| NEP Telcom | Fiber | 83% | 5,000/5,000 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 64% | 25/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 18% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Great Bend’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Great Bend.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Great Bend is in Blue Ridge 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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Great Bend is in ZIP code 18821
ZIP codes where Great Bend residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Great Bend | ZIP’s residents in Great Bend |
|---|---|---|---|
| 18821 | Great Bend, PA | 100% | 61% |
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 Great Bend
Who supplies Great Bend’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Pa Amer Water Co Susquehanna (EPA ID PA2580024). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jun–Sep 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Great Bend?
Claverack Rural Elec Coop (Claverack Rural Elec Coop Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 18.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Great Bend?
Adams CATV, Frontier, NEP Telcom, AT&T, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Great Bend?
18821. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Great Bend in?
Blue Ridge School District.
How do I register to vote in Great Bend?
In Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Susquehanna County Board of Elections. Check your registration at pavoterservices.pa.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.