Living in Rheems, PA: what to set up and who to call
Rheems has no town government of its own, so Lancaster County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Elizabethtown Area School District. For a library card, the closest branch is Elizabethtown Public Library, 2.6 miles out.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Rheems, 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 Rheems.
Power comes from PPL Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities (PPL Electric Utilities Corp), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Rheems. Its homes paid an average of 18.6¢ per kWh in 2025, about $164 a month (its average across Pennsylvania, for customers on its standard service). Pennsylvania lets you buy power from another supplier; 36% of PPL Electric Utilities’ home customers do, and PPL Electric Utilities still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Elizabethtown Area Water
Elizabethtown Area Water supplies almost all of Rheems. It draws surface water and serves 19,000 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 Jun–Sep 2025, was 3.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 79% 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. PA7360124.
5 home internet providers serve Rheems
100% of 728 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 76% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| Brightspeed | Fiber, DSL | 78% | 2,000/2,000 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 84% | 25/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 37% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 11% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Rheems’ trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Rheems.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Rheems (86%) is in Elizabethtown Area School District; parts are in Donegal School District (14%).
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
Rheems is unincorporated, so Lancaster 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.
Rheems spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Rheems residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Rheems | ZIP’s residents in Rheems |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17552 | Mount Joy, PA | 61% | 7% |
| 17022 | Elizabethtown, PA | 28% | 2% |
| 17570 | Rheems, PA | 12% | 100% |
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 Rheems
Who supplies Rheems’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
Elizabethtown Area Water (EPA ID PA7360124). 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 3.0 ppb (Jun–Sep 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Rheems?
PPL Electric Utilities (PPL Electric Utilities Corp), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 18.6¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Rheems?
Xfinity, Brightspeed, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Rheems?
17552 (61%), 17022 (28%), 17570 (12%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Rheems in?
Elizabethtown Area School District. Parts of the city are in Donegal School District.
How do I register to vote in Rheems?
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 Lancaster 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.