Bremo Plantation · Photo: Historic American Buildings Survey · Public domainLiving in Columbia, VA: what to set up and who to call
Columbia has no town government of its own, so Fluvanna County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Fluvanna County Public Schools. Tap water in Columbia comes from the Columbia water system, 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 0.8 ppb.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Columbia, 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 Columbia.
Power comes from Dominion Energy
Dominion Energy (Virginia Electric & Power Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Columbia. Its homes paid an average of 15.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $158 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 Columbia water system
The Columbia water system supplies almost all of Columbia. It draws ground water and serves 110 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 2021–Dec 2023, was 0.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 50% 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. VA2065120.
Which providers serve Columbia
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Columbia, the share of addresses that can get 100/20 Mbps and the share with fiber, with the map’s “as of” date.
Source to come: FCC Broadband Data Collection.
We don’t have Columbia’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Columbia.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Columbia is in Fluvanna County Public Schools.
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
Columbia is unincorporated, so Fluvanna County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2015; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Columbia is in ZIP code 23038
ZIP codes where Columbia residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Columbia | ZIP’s residents in Columbia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 23038 | Columbia, VA | 100% | 4% |
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 Columbia
Who supplies Columbia’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Columbia water system (EPA ID VA2065120). 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 0.8 ppb (Jan 2021–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Columbia?
Dominion Energy (Virginia Electric & Power Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 15.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Columbia?
23038. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Columbia in?
Fluvanna County Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in Columbia?
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 Fluvanna 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: 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): pending.