Living in Alder, WA: what to set up and who to call
Alder has no town government of its own, so Pierce County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Eatonville School District. Power in Alder comes from Peninsula Light Company, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Alder, 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 Alder.
Power comes from Peninsula Light Company
Peninsula Light Company (Peninsula Light Company), a cooperative utility, serves all of Alder. Its homes paid an average of 11.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $138 a month (its average across Washington).
Start or move service: www.penlight.org · (253) 857-5950
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Citizens Water Association
Citizens Water Association supplies Alder: about 61% of residents live in its service area. About 39% 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 60 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2018–Dec 2020, was 2.1 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. It’s from 2020: EPA has no newer result for this system.
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. WA5301000.
Which providers serve Alder
This card will list the home internet providers the FCC’s National Broadband Map shows in Alder, 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 Alder’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Alder.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Alder is in Eatonville School District.
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
Alder is unincorporated, so Pierce County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Alder is in ZIP code 98328
ZIP codes where Alder residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Alder | ZIP’s residents in Alder |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98328 | Eatonville, WA | 100% | 2% |
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 Alder
Who supplies Alder’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Citizens Water Association (EPA ID WA5301000). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.1 ppb (Jan 2018–Dec 2020), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Alder?
Peninsula Light Company (Peninsula Light Company), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 11.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What ZIP codes are in Alder?
98328. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Alder in?
Eatonville School District.
How do I register to vote in Alder?
In Washington you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 8 days before). Elections here are run by the Pierce County Auditor. Check your registration at voter.votewa.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.