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Tuckaleechee-sunrise2Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 2.5
The Townsend handbook

Living in Townsend, TN: what to set up and who to call

Power in Townsend comes from Sevier County Electric System, a municipal utility rather than a private company. Most of Townsend has one wired internet choice: Xfinity.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Townsend, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Townsend.

Electricity

Power comes from Sevier County Electric System

Sevier County Electric System (Sevier County Electric System), a municipal utility, serves 98.2% of Townsend residents. Its homes paid an average of 12.1¢ per kWh in 2025, about $142 a month (its average across Tennessee).

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Tuckaleechee Utility District

Tuckaleechee Utility District supplies almost all of Townsend. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Alcoa Water System and Knox-Chapman Utility District as sellers) and serves 14,522 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.

Lead, 90th percentile4.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 4.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 5.9 ppb. That’s higher than 87% 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. TN0000714.

Internet

4 home internet providers serve Townsend

100% of 406 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
XfinityCable98%2,000/250
AT&TDSL, Fixed wireless27%25/3
VerizonFixed wireless93%300/20
T-MobileFixed wireless62%100/20

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Townsend’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Townsend.

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Townsend kids go to
K–5Townsend ElementaryBlount County School District
6–85 middle schoolsDepends on your address
9–124 high schoolsDepends on your address

Townsend is in Blount County 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.

Government & voting

Town hall and registering to vote

Who to call, and how to register.

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Townsend is in ZIP code 37882

ZIP codes where Townsend residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of TownsendZIP’s residents in Townsend
37882Townsend, TN100%18%
Area code865Wikidata

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

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 Townsend

Who supplies Townsend’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Tuckaleechee Utility District (EPA ID TN0000714). 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 4.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Townsend?

Sevier County Electric System (Sevier County Electric System), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 12.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Townsend?

Xfinity, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Townsend?

37882. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Townsend in?

Blount County School District.

How do I register to vote in Townsend?

In Tennessee 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 Blount County Election Commission. Check your registration at tnmap.tn.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.