2007 Drinking Water Quality Report

City of Dover Department of Public Utilities

860 Buttner Place, Dover, Delaware 19904

PWSID#: DE0000571

May 15, 2008

As consumers become more health conscious, they require more information to help them make informed decisions about the products they consume.  The Safe Drinking Water Act was amended, in 1996, to ensure consumers are provided with an Annual Water Quality Report containing this important information about their drinking water.  The City of Dover is pleased to present our Annual Water Quality Report for the 2007 calendar year.  Our goal as a public water purveyor is to provide a healthy and dependable supply of drinking water to our customers, many of which are family and friends of the dedicated people entrusted with the production, treatment, distribution and sampling of our water each and every day of the year.  We want our customers to understand the continuous efforts we are making to improve the Citys water treatment process and to protect our customers, families and friends, as well as our precious water resources.  The City of Dover is committed to providing the highest quality drinking water possible.

Drinking water can come from many sources.  The sources of drinking water (both tap water and bottled water) include rivers, lakes, streams, ponds, reservoirs, springs, and wells.  As water travels over the surface of the land or through the ground, it dissolves naturally-occurring materials and, in some cases, radioactive materials, and can pick up substances resulting from the presence of animals or from human activity.  The City of Dovers water supply system uses groundwater as its source of supply.  Our public drinking water wells draw water from the Cheswold, Piney Point, and Columbia Aquifers.  In order to ensure that tap water is safe to drink, the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) prescribes regulations which limit the amount of certain contaminants in water provided by public water systems.  Food and Drug Administration regulations established limits for contaminants in bottled water which must provide the same protection for public health.

This water quality report identifies some of the components of the Citys drinking water.  If you have any questions concerning the information contained in this report, please contact Ms. Sharon J. Duca, P.E., Water/Wastewater Manager, or Mr. John Sisson, Water Production Supervisor, at (302) 736-7070.  Interested customers can also attend any of our regularly scheduled City Council meetings.  These meetings are held on the second and fourth Mondays of each month in the Council Chambers of City Hall, 15 E. Loockerman Street, Dover, Delaware.  The open forum segment of these meetings begins at 7:15 p.m.  As a public water purveyor, we want our customers to be informed about the quality of their water supply and the dedicated efforts of the Citys water utility.

The City of Dover routinely monitors for various constituents in your drinking water in accordance with all Federal and State laws.  An average of over 1,800 routine analyses are performed every month on samples drawn every day from various locations throughout the city.  A table has been included in this report which shows the results of the Citys required monitoring for the period of January 1^st thru December 31^st, 2007.  As indicated previously, water which travels over land or underground can pick up substances or contaminants such as microbes, inorganic and organic chemicals, and radioactive substances.  All drinking water, including bottled water, may be reasonably expected to contain at least small amounts of these substances or contaminants.  It's important to remember that the mere presence of one or more of these constituents does not necessarily indicate that the water poses a health risk.  Some people may be more vulnerable to contaminants in drinking water than the general population.  Immuno-compromised persons such as persons with cancer undergoing chemotherapy, persons who have undergone organ transplants, people with HIV/AIDS or other immune system disorders, some elderly, and infants can be particularly at risk from infections.  These people should seek advice about drinking water from their health care providers.  More information about contaminants and potential health effects, as well as EPA/CDC guidelines on appropriate means to lessen the risk of infection by microbial contaminants, can be obtained by calling the Environmental Protection Agencys Safe Drinking Water Hotline (1-800-426-4791).

This report contains the following terms and/or abbreviations which you may not be familiar with.  To help you better understand these terms we have provided some basic definitions:

Parts per million (ppm) or Milligrams per liter (mg/l) - one part per million or one milligram per liter corresponds to one minute in two years or a single penny in $10,000⁰⁰.

Parts per billion (ppb) or Micrograms per liter (¼g/l) - one part per billion or one microgram per liter corresponds to one minute in two millennia or a single penny in $10,000,000⁰⁰.

Action Level (AL) - the concentration of a contaminant which, if exceeded, triggers treatment or other requirements which a water system must follow.

Treatment Technique (TT) - a treatment technique is a required process intended to reduce the level of a contaminant in drinking water.

Maximum Contaminant Level - the Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) is the highest level of a contaminant that is allowed in your drinking water.  MCLs are set as close to the MCLGs as feasible using the best available treatment technology.

Maximum Contaminant Level Goal - the Goal (MCLG) is the level of a contaminant in drinking water below which there is no known or expected risk to health.  MCLGs allow for a margin of safety.

Lead & Copper Rule:  In September 2006, the City of Dover obtained 33 water samples from our customers to comply with the requirements of the Lead & Copper Rule.  These samples were analyzed by an independent private laboratory.  Our results for lead indicated the 90^th percentile sample had 4 ppb of lead present in the sample.  This result is below the action level of 15 ppb for lead.  Our results for copper indicated the 90^th percentile sample had 0.186 ppm of copper present in the sample.  This result is below the action level of 1.3 ppm for copper.  Since our results were below the action level for both substances, no further action was required.  The City of Dover will perform another round of sampling to comply with this rule in the summer of 2009.

Nitrates & Nitrites:  While the City of Dover did not exceed the maximum contaminant levels for each of these particular contaminants, the significant agricultural uses in the watershed require us to pay special attention to these levels.  Nitrate in drinking water at levels above 10 ppm is a health risk for Infants of less than six (6) months of age.  High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause blue baby syndrome.  Nitrate levels may rise quickly for short periods of time because of rainfall or agricultural activity.  If you are caring for an infant, you should ask for advice from you health care provider.

As indicated in the following table, the Citys water system had no violations for Total Coliform in the 2007 calendar year.  Coliforms are bacteria that are naturally present in the environment and are used as a marker which may indicate that other, potentially harmful, bacteria may be present.  We're proud that your drinking water currently meets or exceeds all Federal and State requirements.