Fort Brown · Photo: Pi3.124 · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Brownsville, TX: what to set up and who to call
Power in Brownsville comes from Magic Valley Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. Brownsville has its own drop-off, Brownsville Recycling Center, on 308 East Elizabeth Street.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Brownsville, 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 Brownsville.
Power comes from Magic Valley Electric Coop
Magic Valley Electric Coop (Magic Valley Electric Coop Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Brownsville. Its homes paid an average of 10.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $140 a month (its average across Texas).
Start or move service: magicvalley.coop · (866) 225-5683
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Brownsville Public Utilities Board
Brownsville Public Utilities Board supplies Brownsville: about 78% of residents live in its service area. El Jardin WSC serves another 16%. It draws surface water (EPA lists Southmost Regional Water Authority as seller) and serves 201,249 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 332 systems serving 100,001–250,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. TX0310001.
8 home internet providers serve Brownsville
98% of 53,837 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 47% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 97% | 1,000/35 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless, DSL, Fiber | 60% | 100/20 |
| Omni Fiber | Fiber | 45% | 10,000/10,000 |
| VTX1 | Fixed wireless, Fiber | 34% | 400/50 |
| Smartcom Telephone | Fiber | 6% | 5,000/5,000 |
| TS Network | Fixed wireless | 97% | 50/10 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Brownsville
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Brownsville, from the town’s own site.
Brownsville Recycling Center
308 East Elizabeth Street, Brownsville, TX, 78520
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
- Paper & cardboard (newspapers, magazines, junk mail, cartons, boxes)
- Plastics #1 and #2 bottles/containers
- Metals (aluminum, steel/tin cans)
RDA Technologies
468 Regal Rd., Unit 124, Brownsville, TX 78521
From brownsvilletx.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated December 29, 2025, January 06, 2026. 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.
Most of Brownsville (47%) is in Brownsville Independent School District; parts are in Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District (40%) and Point Isabel Independent School District (7%) and San Benito Consolidated Independent School District (6%).
BSchool 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 Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Brownsville spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Brownsville residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Brownsville | ZIP’s residents in Brownsville |
|---|---|---|---|
| 78521 | Brownsville, TX | 41% | 86% |
| 78520 | Brownsville, TX | 33% | 95% |
| 78526 | Brownsville, TX | 24% | 83% |
A few homes fall in 78566, 78575, 78586, 78578. 78522, 78523 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.
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 Brownsville
Who supplies Brownsville’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Brownsville Public Utilities Board (EPA ID TX0310001). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Brownsville?
Magic Valley Electric Coop (Magic Valley Electric Coop Inc), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 10.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Brownsville?
Spectrum, AT&T, Omni Fiber, VTX1, Smartcom Telephone, TS Network (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Brownsville?
78521 (41%), 78520 (33%), 78526 (24%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Brownsville in?
Brownsville Independent School District. Parts of the city are in Los Fresnos Consolidated Independent School District and Point Isabel Independent School District and San Benito Consolidated Independent School District.
How do I register to vote in Brownsville?
Texas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Cameron County Early Voting Clerk. Check your registration at teamrv-mvp.sos.texas.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: Brownsville’s own website (brownsvilletx.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 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.