Living in Des Moines, WA: what to set up and who to call
The closest public drop-off to Des Moines is Bow Lake Recycling & Transfer Station, 4 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it. Highline Medical Center, 4.8 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Des Moines, 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 Des Moines.
Power comes from Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Des Moines. Its homes paid an average of 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $147 a month (its average across Washington).
Start or move service: pse.com · (888) 225-5773
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Highline Water District
Highline Water District supplies Des Moines: about 82% of residents live in its service area. King County Water District #54 serves another 10%. Lakehaven Water and Sewer District serves another 8%. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists King County Water District #20 and King County Water District #49 and Lakehaven Water and Sewer District and Seattle Public Utilities and Tukwila Water Department as sellers) and serves 100,170 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 332 systems serving 100,001–250,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.4 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 5.2 ppb. That’s higher than 54% 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. WA5340650.
6 home internet providers serve Des Moines
100% of 8,517 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 30% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| Quantum Fiber | Fiber | 37% | 8,000/8,000 |
| CenturyLink | DSL, Fiber | 20% | 140/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 71% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 55% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 38% | 100/20 |
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 Des Moines.
Bow Lake Recycling & Transfer Station
18800 Orillia Road S, Tukwila, WA, 98188
This isn’t Des Moines’ own facility. Whether Des Moines residents may use it is the town’s rule: check the town’s office.
OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Des Moines (74%) is in Highline School District; parts are in Federal Way School District (26%).
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 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Des Moines spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Des Moines residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Des Moines | ZIP’s residents in Des Moines |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98198 | Seattle, WA | 94% | 80% |
| 98148 | Seattle, WA | 6% | 18% |
A few homes fall in 98023.
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 Des Moines
Who supplies Des Moines’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
Highline Water District (EPA ID WA5340650). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.4 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Des Moines?
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Des Moines?
Xfinity, Quantum Fiber, CenturyLink, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Des Moines?
98198 (94%), 98148 (6%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Des Moines in?
Highline School District. Parts of the city are in Federal Way School District.
How do I register to vote in Des Moines?
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 King County Elections. 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 National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.