Dover Water Department

The Safe Drinking Water Act, amended in 1996, ensures consumers receive Annual Water Quality Reports containing vital information about their water supply. The City of Dover is proud to present our Annual Water Quality Report for 2017. Our mission as a public water provider is to deliver safe, reliable water to our customers – many of whom are family members of our dedicated staff who work daily to produce, treat, distribute, and test our water.

We want residents to understand our ongoing efforts to improve water treatment processes and protect our community's precious water resources. Dover is committed to providing the highest quality water possible. Please share this information with others who consume this water, especially those who may not receive this notice directly (such as apartment residents, nursing home patients, schools, and businesses). Additional copies are available at Dover's Public Works office.

To ensure tap water safety, the EPA establishes regulations limiting contaminant levels in public water systems. FDA regulations set similar limits for bottled water to provide equal public health protection. All water, including bottled varieties, may reasonably contain small amounts of some contaminants, which doesn't necessarily indicate health risks.

Certain populations may be more vulnerable to water contaminants than the general public. Immunocompromised individuals such as cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, organ transplant recipients, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune disorders, some elderly individuals, and infants may face increased infection risks. These individuals should seek water safety advice from healthcare providers. For more information about contaminants and potential health effects, or EPA/CDC guidelines on reducing Cryptosporidium and other microbial contamination risks, contact the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

Water sources (both tap and bottled) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells. As water travels across land or underground, it dissolves naturally-occurring minerals and sometimes radioactive materials, and can pick up substances from animal or human activity. Potential contaminants include:

• Microbial contaminants like viruses and bacteria from sewage treatment plants, septic systems, agricultural operations, and wildlife
• Inorganic contaminants such as salts and metals, either naturally-occurring or resulting from urban runoff, industrial/domestic wastewater, oil/gas production, mining, or farming
• Pesticides and herbicides from agriculture, urban runoff, and residential uses
• Organic chemical contaminants, including synthetic and volatile organic compounds from industrial processes, petroleum production, gas stations, urban runoff, and septic systems
• Radioactive contaminants that occur naturally or result from oil/gas production and mining

Dover's water system uses groundwater from 9 wells in the confined Cheswold aquifer, 6 wells in the confined Piney Point aquifer, and 7 wells in the unconfined Columbia aquifer. The confined aquifer wells have low vulnerability to contaminants, while the unconfined aquifer wells have high vulnerability.

The Division of Public Health and DNREC have completed a Source Water Assessment for Dover's public water wells, containing detailed information on potential contamination sources within wellhead protection areas, including 9 underground storage tanks, 2 sewage sites, 1 salvage yard and 1 superfund site. Contact Dover's Public Works Department at 302-736-7026 about the Source Water Assessment availability or view it online at http://delawaresourcewater.org/assessments/.

Dover adopted its Source Water Protection Code on November 26, 2007 (updated March 24, 2008) to protect our most valuable resource at its source. This ordinance ensures groundwater protection by reducing contaminants entering the aquifer through impervious surface reduction and hazardous material control. View this code at www.municode.com/Library/DE/Dover or contact Dover's Planning office at 302-736-7196 with questions.

Interested residents can attend our regular City Council meetings held on the second and fourth Mondays monthly at City Hall Council Chambers (15 E. Loockerman Street). The open forum begins at 7:15 p.m. The Dover staff thanks customers for supporting our efforts to provide high-quality water while meeting the challenges of maintaining clean water for future generations.

1. Where can I view production updates?
2. How can I find the nearest bus route/stop?
3. Where do I pay my water invoice?