Plummer Mine Headframe · Photo: Royalbroil · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Pence, WI: what to set up and who to call
Pence Waterworks reported one health-based violation to EPA in the last five years: a groundwater treatment requirement (Groundwater Rule), beginning Sep 2025. Power in Pence comes from Bayfield Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Pence, 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 Pence.
Power comes from Bayfield Electric Coop
Bayfield Electric Coop (Bayfield Electric Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Pence.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Pence Waterworks
Pence Waterworks supplies Pence: about 56% of residents live in its service area. About 44% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated ground water (EPA lists Montreal Waterworks as seller) and serves 191 people in all.
1 health-based violation reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026: a groundwater treatment requirement (Groundwater Rule), beginning Sep 2025. 77% of the 15,074 systems serving 101–500 people had none.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jun–Sep 2023, was 4.2 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 88% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. WI8260122.
3 home internet providers serve Pence
75% of 183 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 2% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable | 62% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Brightspeed | Fiber | 2% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Bug Tussel | Fixed wireless | 75% | 25/5 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Pence’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Pence.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Pence is in Hurley 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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Pence spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Pence residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Pence | ZIP’s residents in Pence |
|---|---|---|---|
| 54550 | Montreal, WI | 89% | 21% |
| 54534 | Hurley, WI | 6% | 0% |
| 54525 | Gile, WI | 4% | 3% |
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 Pence
Who supplies Pence’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Pence Waterworks (EPA ID WI8260122). It reported 1 health-based violation to EPA in the five years to October 2026: a groundwater treatment requirement (Groundwater Rule). 77% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 4.2 ppb (Jun–Sep 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Pence?
Bayfield Electric Coop (Bayfield Electric Coop, Inc), a cooperative utility.
What internet providers serve Pence?
Spectrum, Brightspeed, Bug Tussel (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Pence?
54550 (89%), 54534 (6%), 54525 (4%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Pence in?
Hurley School District.
How do I register to vote in Pence?
In Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before). Elections here are run by the Town of Pence Clerk. Check your registration at myvote.wi.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 Nov 18, 2024 (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.