Photo: Kenneth C. Zirkel · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Bristol, RI: what to set up and who to call
Bristol runs its own elections, so the Bristol Board of Canvassers, not a county office, keeps the voter rolls. i3 Broadband and Cox Communications both wire most of Bristol; 0% of addresses can get fiber.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Bristol, 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 Bristol.
Power comes from Rhode Island Energy
Rhode Island Energy (The Narragansett Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Bristol. Its homes paid an average of 29.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $166 a month (its average across Rhode Island, for customers on its standard service). Rhode Island lets you buy power from another supplier; 26% of Rhode Island Energy’s home customers do, and Rhode Island Energy still delivers it.
Start or move service: www1.nationalgridus.com · (401) 784-7000
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Bristol County Water Authority
Bristol County Water Authority supplies almost all of Bristol. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Providence-City of and East Providence-City of as sellers) and serves 49,000 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 Jan–Dec 2026, was 1.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 2.7 ppb. That’s higher than 59% 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. RI1647515.
5 home internet providers serve Bristol
99% of 7,161 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| i3 Broadband | Cable, Fiber | 96% | 2,000/40 |
| Cox Communications | Cable, Fiber | 94% | 2,000/100 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 74% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 70% | 300/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 62% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Bristol is any weekday, depending on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Bristol, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s day (any weekday)Look up your day on bristolri.gov
- Bulky itemsCall to book
Bristol Transfer Station
6 Minturn Farm Road, Bristol, RI 02809
- Mon7:30 am–3 pm
- Tue7:30 am–3 pm
- Wed7:30 am–3 pm
- Thu7:30 am–3 pm
- Fri7:30 am–3 pm
- Sat8 am–noon
Compost Facility
6 Minturn Farm Road, Bristol, RI 02809
From bristolri.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2018, June 20, 2022. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Bristol is in Bristol-Warren Region School District.
B+School gradeSee 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 Sep 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Bristol is in ZIP code 02809
ZIP codes where Bristol residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Bristol | ZIP’s residents in Bristol |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02809 | Bristol, RI | 100% | 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 Bristol
Who supplies Bristol’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Bristol County Water Authority (EPA ID RI1647515). 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 1.6 ppb (Jan–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bristol?
Rhode Island Energy (The Narragansett Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 29.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Bristol?
i3 Broadband, Cox Communications, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Bristol?
02809. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bristol in?
Bristol-Warren Region School District.
How do I register to vote in Bristol?
In Rhode Island 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 Bristol Board of Canvassers. Check your registration at vote.sos.ri.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: Bristol’s own website (bristolri.gov), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- 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 Sep 30, 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.