Water system
Dover City
EPA ID OH7900412 · Tuscarawas County · 13,253 people served · owned by a local government
Dover City treats its own water from Sugar Creek Basin sand-and-gravel aquifer (Dover wellfield).
The system's record
- Aquifer
- Sugar Creek Basin Aquifer
- Active wells
- 5
- Serves
- 13,253 people · Tuscarawas County
- EPA ID
- OH7900412
About this area's water
Did you know
- Dover draws its entire supply from just five wells in one wellfield at 390 West 17th Street, and still delivers about two million gallons a day.
- The utility's watershed, the Tuscarawas Watershed, covers roughly 2,614 square miles, most of it under forest cover or in agriculture.
- Because the source is protected groundwater, Dover's treatment train is unusually simple — iron and manganese filtration plus chlorination, with none of the coagulation and sedimentation a surface-water system needs.
- Dover's water quality reports have carried a W.H. Auden line tucked in beside the watershed description: "Thousands have lived without love, not one without water."
- Dover's Lead and Copper Rule inventory came back clean across the board: no lead service lines, no galvanized lines needing replacement, and no lines of unknown material — a rare result for a city of its age.
History6
- 1993Nitrates first detected in City of Dover water wells — cited in the utility's Wellhead Protection Plan and Source Water Assessment as evidence of the aquifer's high susceptibility.
- 2020Lead and copper tap round: lead 90th percentile 7.07 ppb, copper 0.175 ppm, 0 of 32 sites above the action level.
- 2023Lead and copper tap round: lead 90th percentile fell to 2.00 ppb and copper to 0.127 ppm, 0 of 34 sites above the action level.
- 2024Service line inventory completed under the Lead and Copper Rule using historical records, inspections, public survey, service installation data and statistical analysis — it found no lead service…
- 2025Most recent Consumer Confidence Report (reporting year 2025) shows no monitoring or MCL violations and a current, unconditioned license to operate.
- 2025City began a $3.3 million north-end infrastructure package — retention pond, 3,500 feet of storm sewer, Crown Road widening and a rail-line culvert — ahead of a Schaeffler Group USA manufacturing…
Treatment & pressure
How it is treated
Groundwater from five wells in the Dover Well Field at 390 West 17th Street, drawing on the sand-and-gravel Sugar Creek Basin Aquifer, is pumped to the city treatment plant. Iron and manganese are removed by filtration and chlorine is added as a precaution against bacteria; chlorine levels are…
Source: doverohio.comdoverohio.com
Water pressure
Not published in the CCR or on the utility pages reviewed.
Source: doverohio.com
What it costs
No current water or sewer rate schedule is published on doverohio.com; the utility office page links only a 'Utility Rates 2020' document and the compare-rates page carries…
Source: doverohio.comdoverohio.com
Water quality & impurities10
| Contaminant | Level | Limit | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barium Erosion of natural deposits and discharge from drilling wastes; well below the MCL. | 0.07 ppm | 2 | 2025 |
| Chlorine Residual disinfectant; compliant. | 1.02 (range… ppm | 4 (MRDL) | 2025 |
| Fluoride Low — essentially natural background, at about 2% of the MCL. | 0.09 ppm | 4 | 2025 |
| HAA5 (haloacetic acids) Non-detect. | ND (not… ppb | 60 | 2025 |
| Nitrate About 6% of the MCL — low, despite nitrate having been detectable in the wellfield since 1993 and despite the aquifer's… | 0.61 ppm | 10 | 2025 |
| TTHM (total trihalomethanes) Disinfection byproduct; about 14% of the MCL, low because groundwater carries little organic precursor material. | 11 (range… ppb | 80 | 2025 |
| Copper (90th percentile) Range 0.00494-0.533; 0 of 34 sites above the action level. Down from 0.175 ppm in 2020. | 0.127 ppm | 1.3 (Action… | 2023 |
| Lead (90th percentile) Range ND-2.91; 0 of 34 sites above the action level. Down sharply from 7.07 ppb in 2020. The system's service line… | 2.00 ppb | 15 (Action… | 2023 |
| Sulfate Secondary (aesthetic) standard; naturally occurring, at about 73% of the SMCL. | 182 ppm | 250 (SMCL) | 2025 |
| Hardness Very hard water, typical of a sand-and-gravel aquifer. Was 399 ppm in 2022. The city does not soften. | 372 ppm | unregulated | 2024 |
Source: doverohio.comdoverohio.comdoverohio.com
EPA compliance record
Lead at the tap: 90th-percentile result 2 ppb in 2023 (action level 15 ppb).
EPA record: no health-based violations since 2015.
3 violations of any kind logged since 2020: 3 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Projects & plans1
Recent and current work
- North end infrastructure improvements · $3.3 million · 2025-2026 · under construction
Retention pond between Interstate 77 and the R.J. Corman railroad, about 3,500 feet of storm water lines (roughly $1.7 million), Crown Road widening with a…
Source: yourohionews.com
Supply stress
Ohio EPA continues to assess Dover's source as HIGH susceptibility to contamination, for four stated reasons: a thin, highly permeable sandy loam soil layer that offers little protection from spillage above; shallow depth to water in the sand-and-gravel aquifer, generally 5 to 15 feet below ground surface; generally flat topography that…
Source: doverohio.comdoverohio.com
Sewers
Sanitary
Operated by the same City of Dover Water/Wastewater Department; the Dover Wastewater Treatment Plant can be reached at (330) 343-3443. Plant capacity, receiving stream and any consent-decree status are not published on the city pages reachable in this review.
Storm
The city is installing about 3,500 feet of new storm water lines and a retention pond between I-77 and the R.J. Corman railroad, plus a culvert under the rail line, as part of the $3.3 million north-end package, to eliminate Crown Road flooding. A separate…
Sourcesverified
Compiled from the utility's own reports and public records, then independently re-checked against primary sources.
Main supplier in 1 ZIP code
Serves
Main water supplier in 1 ZIP code
- 44622 · Dover71% of residents
Also present in 1 more ZIP code
- 44663 · New Philadelphia0% of residents
Population-weighted resident shares; a ZIP code can have more than one system on record. Recomputed from each ZIP's own system list, not from the map's cached footprint.
Buys from · Sells to
Dover City does not buy water from another system on record; it treats its own source water.
No other system is on record buying water from Dover City.
What the records show about Dover City
Who runs it
EPA's record describes Dover City as owned by a local government. It has 5,589 service connections and serves 13,253 people.
EPA classes it as a community water system, one that serves the same residents all year.
EPA's record says it has substantially implemented source water protection under Ohio's program, dating the program from 2023. Its office telephone on EPA's record is 330-343-6726.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), water system record.
How the water is treated
EPA's treatment table registers these steps for Dover City: chlorine disinfection and iron and manganese removal.
The list is what each system registered with EPA for treatment plants EPA still shows as active, and it can lag a plant upgrade.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) treatment table (EPA Envirofacts, pulled September 2026).
Violations
EPA's record shows no health-based violations for Dover City since 2015.
EPA logs 3 violations of any kind since 2020: 3 for a report, record or notice that was missing, late or incomplete (the yearly water quality report, a public notice, lead line records).
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) violation records: health-based violations with compliance periods beginning in 2015 or later, all violations from 2020 or later (EPA Envirofacts, pulled September 2026).
Lead and copper at the tap
In the sampling period ending December 2023, the 90th-percentile lead result at Dover City was 2 ppb, under both the current 15 ppb action level and the 10 ppb level that applies from 2027.
The highest result on file is 7.1 ppb, in the period ending December 2020.
EPA has 3 sampling periods on file for Dover City since 2016, the first ending in 2017; no period was above 10 ppb.
Every water system has to inventory its service lines, the pipes from the main to each building. In the inventory Dover City sent EPA, 5,592 lines are counted.
| Material | Lines |
|---|---|
| Lead | 0 |
| Galvanized, needing replacement | 0 |
| Unknown material | 0 |
| Not lead | 5,592 |
| All lines | 5,592 |
Systems sample taps in the homes most likely to have lead pipes or solder. The 90th-percentile result is the level nine in ten of the sampled homes were at or below. Lead comes mostly from service lines and house plumbing, not the source water, so a low result for the system does not clear an old house.
EPA's dashboard status for this inventory: reported all required service line types.
Source: EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) lead and copper 90th-percentile results (EPA Envirofacts), sampling periods ending 2016 or later; EPA's service line inventory dashboard, Ohio's 2026 Q2 submission.
PFAS
EPA's fifth national round of testing (UCMR 5) took 2 samples of the water entering the pipes of Dover City in 2023 to 2024 and measured 29 PFAS. No PFAS was detected, PFOA and PFOS (federal limit 4 ng/L each) among them.
Ohio EPA's own statewide sampling tested 1 plant of Dover City (latest sample July 2020). Not one of the six PFAS tested (PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, GenX and PFBS) was detected.
Ohio EPA's current sampling status map lists 1 plant of Dover City as sampled, most recently July 2026.
PFAS are the 'forever chemicals' from firefighting foam, plating shops and non-stick coatings. Results are for water leaving the plant, not your tap.
Source: EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data (final release, August 2026); Ohio EPA statewide PFAS sampling, 2019 to 2021, and its sampling status map.
Disinfection byproducts
Chlorine that disinfects water also reacts with organic matter to form byproducts. Two groups have federal limits: total trihalomethanes (TTHM, 80 µg/L) and five haloacetic acids (HAA5, 60 µg/L), judged on running yearly averages at each sampling site.
For TTHM, the average of Dover City's samples in 2019, the last year it was sampled, was 13.6 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 16.2 µg/L and the highest single sample was 16.2 µg/L, from 40 samples taken from 2012 to 2019.
For HAA5, the average in the last year sampled was 0 µg/L. The worst yearly average was 0.6 µg/L and the highest single sample was 2 µg/L, from 42 samples.
| Byproduct | Limit | Latest yearly average | Worst yearly average | Highest sample | Samples |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TTHM | 80 µg/L | 13.6 µg/L (2019) | 16.2 µg/L | 16.2 µg/L | 40 |
| HAA5 | 60 µg/L | 0 µg/L | 0.6 µg/L | 2 µg/L | 42 |
A yearly average of 0 means nothing was detected in that year's samples. EPA's file stops at 2019; Ohio EPA's Drinking Water Watch has newer results.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, distribution-system samples (non-detects counted as zero).
Nitrate, arsenic and radioactivity
Nitrate: the highest of 9 samples was 0.66 mg/L (as nitrogen) in 2014; in 2019, the last year sampled, the highest was 0.51 mg/L. No sample was over the limit of 10 mg/L. Nitrate above 10 is unsafe for infants.
Arsenic was not detected in 3 samples (limit 10 µg/L).
| Contaminant | Samples | Highest result | Limit | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate (as nitrogen) | 9 | 0.66 mg/L | 10 mg/L | 0 |
| Arsenic | 3 | not detected | 10 µg/L | 0 |
Measured in finished water: at the plant's entry points and in the distribution system; raw well and intake samples are left out. Non-detects count as zero.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water.
Solvents and fuels
EPA's file holds results for all six solvent and fuel compounds it checked. Benzene, carbon tetrachloride, 1,2-dichloroethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, and vinyl chloride were not detected in 38 samples each.
| Compound | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benzene | 5 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | not detected | 0 |
| Carbon tetrachloride | 5 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | not detected | 0 |
| 1,2-dichloroethane | 5 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | not detected | 0 |
| Trichloroethylene (TCE) | 5 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | not detected | 0 |
| Tetrachloroethylene (PCE) | 5 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | not detected | 0 |
| Vinyl chloride | 2 µg/L | 38 | 0 of 38 | not detected | 0 |
"Not detected" means the lab's result was below what its method can measure, not that the compound is absent. Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water.
Farm chemicals and metals
EPA's file holds results for 8 of the nine herbicides and metals it checked. Detected: barium in 6 of 6 samples, highest 74 µg/L (limit 2,000). Not detected: atrazine in 3 samples, alachlor in 3 samples, chromium in 4 samples, cadmium in 4 samples, mercury in 3 samples, selenium in 3 samples, thallium in 4 samples.
| Substance | Kind | Limit | Samples | Detected in | Highest result | Samples over limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Atrazine | Farm chemical | 3 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Alachlor | Farm chemical | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Chromium | Metal | 100 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Cadmium | Metal | 5 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
| Barium | Metal | 2,000 µg/L | 6 | 6 of 6 | 74 µg/L | 0 |
| Mercury | Metal | 2 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Selenium | Metal | 50 µg/L | 3 | 0 of 3 | not detected | 0 |
| Thallium | Metal | 2 µg/L | 4 | 0 of 4 | not detected | 0 |
Non-detects count as zero in the highest-result column.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, finished water.
Bacteria in the pipes
From 2012 to 2019, 1 of 1,026 routine total coliform samples taken in the distribution system at Dover City tested positive (0.1%); in 2019, the last year on file, 0 of 135 did. E. coli was never found in the 5 samples tested for it.
A positive coliform test is a warning sign, not a violation by itself. E. coli is a sign that human or animal waste may have reached the water. Coliform counts are routine samples only; E. coli counts include repeat samples.
Source: EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, distribution-system presence/absence tests for total coliform and E. coli.
Fluoride
The Ohio Department of Health's report to the CDC (My Water's Fluoride) says Dover City has fluoride from natural sources, but at a level below what is recommended for preventing tooth decay, and does not adjust it. The level it reports is 0.2 mg/L.
EPA's treatment table lists no fluoridation step at Dover City.
Measured fluoride: none was detected in 5 samples at the plant's entry points in 2012 to 2019.
The recommended level for preventing tooth decay is 0.7 mg/L; the federal limit is 4 mg/L. The treatment list is what each system registered with EPA and can lag a plant upgrade.
Source: CDC My Water's Fluoride (fluoridation status as reported by the Ohio Department of Health, fetched September 2026); EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) treatment table; EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, entry-point fluoride samples.
Lithium
Lithium was not detected in 2 UCMR 5 samples at Dover City, last sampled in 2024 (the method reports from 9 µg/L).
Lithium is not regulated. EPA's draft health reference level is 10 µg/L, and it occurs naturally in deep groundwater, so well systems in the northwest run highest.
Source: EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data (final release, August 2026), samples from 2023 to 2025.
Water and sewer bills
Ohio EPA's 2023 rate survey puts the water bill at Dover City for a household using 5,000 gallons a month at $231 a year, about $19 a month.
| Use | Water, per year | Sewer, per year |
|---|---|---|
| 2,500 gallons a month | $164 | not on file |
| 5,000 gallons a month | $231 | not on file |
| 8,000 gallons a month | $369 | not on file |
The survey lists it as “Dover”. These are inside-city rates and annual bills at the use shown.
Source: Ohio EPA 2023 Sewer and Water Rate Survey (Ohio State University, May 2025).
How well the service area is mapped
EPA estimated the service area of Dover City with a computer model rather than drawing it from the utility's map, so its edges are approximate.
Counting the people who live in the ZIP codes it overlaps, this atlas estimates 13,385 residents are inside the boundary, 101% of the 13,253 people Dover City reports serving.
The resident count is an estimate from 2020 Census ZIP-code populations, not a count of customers.
Source: EPA Service Area Boundaries; resident estimate by this atlas from ZIP-code overlap.
Photograph
On the map
Show this system's territory on the map — 2 ZIP codes in all.
Sources
U.S. EPA SDWIS and Community Water System Service Area Boundaries (v3, 2026), Ohio EPA primacy data, 2020 census blocks: the system serving most residents, traced through purchases to the treating utility; Ohio EPA 2023 Sewer and Water Rate Survey (Ohio State, May 2025) for household bills; Ohio EPA DEFA loan awards since 2016 for the loans paragraph · EPA SDWIS · EPA service area boundaries · Ohio EPA drinking water · Ohio EPA rate survey
EPA's own record for this system: Enforcement and Compliance History report for OH7900412 (EPA ECHO).
Dover City's own pages: doverohio.com, en.wikipedia.org
Notable facts: doverohio.com, doverohio.com, doverohio.com, registerherald.com
History: doverohio.com, doverohio.com, doverohio.com, yourohionews.com
Water quality: doverohio.com, doverohio.com, doverohio.com
Water pressure: doverohio.com
Capital projects: yourohionews.com
Rates: doverohio.com, doverohio.com
Sewers: doverohio.com, doverohio.com, yourohionews.com
Treatment: doverohio.com, doverohio.com
Supply stress: doverohio.com, doverohio.com
