Dover, located in Kent County, Delaware, receives its public water supply primarily from groundwater sources managed by the Dover Water Department. This groundwater passes through aquifers before reaching your taps, potentially carrying trace amounts of volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, which are chemicals that may originate from various environmental and industrial sources.
If you want to know key VOC levels documented for Dover’s water system
The latest public water system record for Dover, serving nearly 40,000 people via over 13,000 connections, includes results from a federal monitoring survey conducted from 2013 to 2015. This survey looked for several VOCs including 1,1-dichloroethane, chloromethane, bromomethane, HCFC-22, Halon 1011, 1,3-butadiene, and MTBE. Of these, only HCFC-22 and Halon 1011 were detected above their respective reporting levels in a small number of samples. Importantly, none of these detections exceed any federal health-based limits, as no legal maximum contaminant level currently exists for these compounds. This means the presence of these VOCs is measurable but not classified as unsafe by federal standards.
If your current water treatment system cannot keep up with managing VOCs
When existing equipment does not adequately address VOC presence or volume, considering a technology specifically designed for VOC and industrial chemical removal can be beneficial. The Autotrol VOCs & Industrial Chemicals Filter is one such system. It ships ready to configure for residential use and targets a broad range of VOCs, working by adsorptive and filtration methods to reduce these substances from your water before it reaches household taps.
If you want to understand how treated water will differ at your tap with this system
Once this filter is in use, treated water is expected to have significantly reduced VOC concentrations. This change can improve taste and reduce any potential chemical interactions within your home's plumbing. The filtered water retains the essential qualities of safe, potable water while minimizing industrial chemical traces that your current solution might not fully address.
If you are interpreting the median and range of VOC concentrations in Dover’s system record
For HCFC-22, detected values ranged from just above the reporting level at 0.08 micrograms per liter to a high of 0.26 micrograms per liter, with a median around 0.235 micrograms per liter in detected samples. Halon 1011 was detected once near the reporting level of 0.06 micrograms per liter. These numbers reflect concentrations measured during sampling events across the public water system, not from individual home connections. Medians and ranges provide insight into typical and variable amounts found in the source groundwater but are not indications of individual water conditions.
If you are comparing Dover’s VOC water record with another county’s data
Comparing VOC data between Kent County and neighboring counties requires consideration of differences in water sources, sampling periods, and local industrial or environmental factors. Minor variances in detected VOC levels may reflect these regional influences rather than differences in water safety or treatment needs. Always focus on the specific data from your own water supplier to guide treatment decisions.
If you want to understand why aesthetic secondary standards differ from health-based limits for VOCs
Aesthetic secondary standards focus on taste, odor, and staining potential of water constituents, separate from health-based regulations. Many VOCs lack federal maximum contaminant levels because their detected concentrations in public water systems like Dover’s do not constitute health risks under current guidelines. Treatment aimed at VOCs often improves water quality perception even when health regulations do not require action.
This summary is based solely on federal public water system monitoring data for the Dover Water Department groundwater source. For more detailed information, the EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Information System provides accessible records and sampling results.
Where this information comes from
Source: EPA SDWIS public water system record. Sampled 2015-03-12. These figures describe the public water system's record, not the plumbing inside any individual building.
On record: EPA UCMR3 monitoring (2013-2015) for Dover Water Department (DE0000571), DE: 196 results across 7 listed contaminants, 3 detections above the reporting level; no federal MCL for these UCMR-listed VOCs
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