Photo: John Phelan · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Melville, RI: what to set up and who to call
Melville has no town government of its own, so Newport County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Portsmouth School District. The closest public drop-off to Melville is Portsmouth Compactor and Recycling Center, 4 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Melville, 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 Melville.
Power comes from Rhode Island Energy
Rhode Island Energy (The Narragansett Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Melville. 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 Newport-City of water system
The Newport-City of water system supplies Melville: about 71% of residents live in its service area. About 25% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 42,155 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 2025–Dec 2027, was 4.4 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 27.7 ppb. That’s higher than 89% 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. RI1592010.
4 home internet providers serve Melville
99% of 303 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 6% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Communications | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 2,000/100 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 54% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 44% | 300/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 25% | 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 4 miles away
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Melville.
Portsmouth Compactor and Recycling Center
This isn’t Melville’s own facility. Whether Melville 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.
Most of Melville (53%) is in Portsmouth School District; parts are in Middletown School District (47%).
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
Melville is unincorporated, so Newport County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Melville spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Melville residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Melville | ZIP’s residents in Melville |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02842 | Middletown, RI | 75% | 7% |
| 02871 | Portsmouth, RI | 25% | 2% |
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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Melville
Who supplies Melville’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Newport-City of water system (EPA ID RI1592010). 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 4.4 ppb (Jan 2025–Dec 2027), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Melville?
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 Melville?
Cox Communications, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Melville?
02842 (75%), 02871 (25%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Melville in?
Portsmouth School District. Parts of the city are in Middletown School District.
How do I register to vote in Melville?
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 Middletown 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: 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 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.