Moxley Covered Bridge · Photo: JERRYE & ROY KLOTZ MD · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Chelsea, VT: what to set up and who to call
Chelsea Water System has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 5.6 ppb, was higher than 92% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15). Power in Chelsea comes from Washington Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Chelsea, 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 Chelsea.
Power comes from Washington Electric Coop
Washington Electric Coop (Washington Electric Coop - (VT)), a cooperative utility, serves 68.3% of Chelsea residents.
Start or move service: washingtonelectric.coop · (800) 932-5245
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Chelsea Water System
Chelsea Water System supplies Chelsea: about 35% of residents live in its service area. About 64% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 450 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 2023–Dec 2025, was 5.6 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 92% 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. VT0005638.
5 home internet providers serve Chelsea
96% of 689 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 95% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| ECFiber | Fiber | 95% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Consolidated Communications | DSL | 57% | 60/10 |
| Spectrum | Cable | 25% | 1,000/50 |
| VTel Wireless | Fixed wireless | 59% | 25/3 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 7% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Chelsea
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Chelsea, from the town’s own site.
Chelsea Transfer Station
72 Washington Turnpike
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
From chelseavt.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 22, 2026; pages dated 4/16/2025, January 1, 2024. 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.
Chelsea is in two districts that split the grades: First Branch Unified School District and White River Valley Supervisory Union.
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 Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Chelsea spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Chelsea residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Chelsea | ZIP’s residents in Chelsea |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05038 | Chelsea, VT | 99% | 92% |
| 05077 | Tunbridge, VT | 1% | 1% |
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 Chelsea
Who supplies Chelsea’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Chelsea Water System (EPA ID VT0005638). 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 5.6 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Chelsea?
Washington Electric Coop (Washington Electric Coop - (VT)), a cooperative utility.
What internet providers serve Chelsea?
ECFiber, Consolidated Communications, Spectrum, VTel Wireless, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Chelsea?
05038 (99%), 05077 (1%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Chelsea in?
First Branch Unified School District and White River Valley Supervisory Union.
How do I register to vote in Chelsea?
In Vermont you can register online up to and including Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received by Election Day). Elections here are run by the Chelsea Town Clerk. Check your registration at mvp.vermont.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: Chelsea’s own website (chelseavt.org), read Oct 22, 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 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.