Photo: Fancy-cats-are-happy-cats · Public domainLiving in Colchester, VT: what to set up and who to call
Colchester runs its own elections, so the Colchester Town Clerk, not a county office, keeps the voter rolls. Two school districts split the grades in Colchester: Colchester School District and Colchester Supervisory District.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Colchester, 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 Colchester.
Power comes from Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power (Green Mountain Power Corp), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Colchester. Its homes paid an average of 23.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $140 a month (its average across Vermont).
Start or move service: greenmountainpower.com · (888) 836-4672
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Colchester Fire District 2
Colchester Fire District 2 supplies Colchester: about 30% of residents live in its service area. About 55% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Burlington Public Works’ Water Resources division as seller) and serves 8,300 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, 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. VT0005059.
8 home internet providers serve Colchester
100% of 5,541 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 31% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 98% | 2,000/250 |
| Consolidated Communications | DSL | 54% | 40/10 |
| Fidium Fiber | Fiber | 22% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Burlington Telecom | Fiber | 7% | 1,000/1,000 |
| VTel Wireless | Fixed wireless | 89% | 25/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 29% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
The nearest public drop-off is 4 miles away
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Colchester.
Essex Drop-off Center
· run by Chittended Solid Waste District
This isn’t Colchester’s own facility. Whether Colchester residents may use it is the town’s rule: check colchestervt.gov.
OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Colchester is in two districts that split the grades: Colchester School District and Colchester Supervisory District.
ASchool 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 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Colchester spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Colchester residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Colchester | ZIP’s residents in Colchester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05446 | Colchester, VT | 92% | 100% |
| 05439 | Colchester, VT | 8% | 100% |
A few homes fall in 05468. 05449 is P.O. box or single-organization ZIP 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 Colchester
Who supplies Colchester’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Colchester Fire District 2 (EPA ID VT0005059). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Colchester?
Green Mountain Power (Green Mountain Power Corp), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 23.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Colchester?
Xfinity, Consolidated Communications, Fidium Fiber, Burlington Telecom, VTel Wireless, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Colchester?
05446 (92%), 05439 (8%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Colchester in?
Colchester School District and Colchester Supervisory District.
How do I register to vote in Colchester?
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 Colchester 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: 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 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.