Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Bristol, VA: what to set up and who to call
Bristol runs its own electric utility, Bristol Virginia Utilities; its homes paid 11.6¢ per kWh in 2025. Voting is local here: the Bristol General Registrar registers voters and runs elections, not the county.
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 Bristol Virginia Utilities
Bristol Virginia Utilities (Bristol Virginia Utilities), a municipal utility, serves all of Bristol. Its homes paid an average of 11.6¢ per kWh in 2025, about $144 a month (its average across Virginia).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Washington County Service Authority
Washington County Service Authority supplies Bristol: about 94% of residents live in its service area. About 4% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water (EPA lists Town of Chilhowie and Chilhowie_wcsa Regional WTP and Bvu Authority as sellers) and serves 47,574 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 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. VA1191883.
6 home internet providers serve Bristol
99% of 7,624 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 99% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Point Broadband | Fiber | 99% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 94% | 1,000/35 |
| Brightspeed | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 54% | 2,000/2,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 61% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 45% | 25/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 30% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Bristol depends 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 dayLook up your day on bristolva.gov
Valley Drive & King Mill Pike & Shakesville Road
2515 Valley Drive
From bristolva.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 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.
Bristol is in Bristol City Public Schools.
C+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 2015; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Bristol spans 2 ZIP codes
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 24201 | Bristol, VA | 94% | 100% |
| 24202 | Bristol, VA | 6% | 7% |
24203, 24205, 24209 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 Bristol
Who supplies Bristol’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Washington County Service Authority (EPA ID VA1191883). 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 0.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Bristol?
Bristol Virginia Utilities (Bristol Virginia Utilities), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 11.6¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Bristol?
Point Broadband, Spectrum, Brightspeed, T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Bristol?
24201 (94%), 24202 (6%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Bristol in?
Bristol City Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in Bristol?
In Virginia you can register online until 11 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 11 days before). Elections here are run by the Bristol General Registrar. Check your registration at vote.elections.virginia.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 (bristolva.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.