Living in Chester, SD: what to set up and who to call
Chester has no town government of its own, so Lake County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Chester School District 39-1. Tap water in Chester comes from Chester Sanitary District, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 23% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 1.0 ppb.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Chester, 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 Chester.
Power comes from Xcel Energy
Xcel Energy (Northern States Power Co. (Minnesota)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Chester. Its homes paid an average of 13.1¢ per kWh in 2025, about $101 a month (its average across South Dakota).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Chester Sanitary District
Chester Sanitary District supplies Chester: about 91% of residents live in its service area. About 9% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated ground water (EPA lists Big Sioux Community Water System as seller) and serves 363 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 77% of the 15,074 systems serving 101–500 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2023, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 52% 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. SD4600088.
3 home internet providers serve Chester
100% of 128 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ITC | Fiber | 100% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Interlakes Wireless | Fixed wireless | 50% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 12% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Chester’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Chester.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Chester is in Chester School District 39-1.
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
Chester is unincorporated, so Lake County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jul 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Chester is in ZIP code 57016
ZIP codes where Chester residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Chester | ZIP’s residents in Chester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 57016 | Chester, SD | 100% | 37% |
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 Chester
Who supplies Chester’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Chester Sanitary District (EPA ID SD4600088). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 77% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.0 ppb (Jan–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Chester?
Xcel Energy (Northern States Power Co. (Minnesota)), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 13.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Chester?
ITC, Interlakes Wireless, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Chester?
57016. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Chester in?
Chester School District 39-1.
How do I register to vote in Chester?
South Dakota has no online registration; you can register in person until 15 days before Election Day or by mail (received 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Lake County Auditor. Check your registration at vip.sdsos.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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.