Living in Rachel, WV: what to set up and who to call
Rachel has no town government of its own, so Marion County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Marion County School District. Tap water in most of Rachel comes from Downs PSD, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 0.3 ppb.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Rachel, 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 Rachel.
Power comes from Mon Power
Mon Power (Monongahela Power Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Rachel. Its homes paid an average of 14.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $133 a month (its average across West Virginia).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Downs PSD
Downs PSD supplies Rachel: about 60% of residents live in its service area. About 40% 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 City of Fairmont as seller) and serves 1,024 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan–Dec 2026, was 0.3 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 61% 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. WV3302501.
5 home internet providers serve Rachel
100% of 120 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 100% | 1,200/35 |
| Frontier | DSL | 52% | 10/1 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 43% | 25/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 28% | 300/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 8% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Rachel’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Rachel.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Rachel is in Marion County 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
Rachel is unincorporated, so Marion County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Rachel is in ZIP code 26587
ZIP codes where Rachel residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Rachel | ZIP’s residents in Rachel |
|---|---|---|---|
| 26587 | Rachel, WV | 100% | 77% |
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 Rachel
Who supplies Rachel’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Downs PSD (EPA ID WV3302501). 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 0.3 ppb (Jan–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Rachel?
Mon Power (Monongahela Power Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 14.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Rachel?
Xfinity, Frontier, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Rachel?
26587. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Rachel in?
Marion County School District.
How do I register to vote in Rachel?
In West Virginia you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person until 21 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 21 days before). Elections here are run by the Marion Clerk of the County Commission. Check your registration at apps.sos.wv.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.