Photo: Tim Kiser (w:User:Malepheasant) · CC BY-SA 2.5Living in Dover, DE: what to set up and who to call
Dover runs its own electric utility, City of Dover; its homes paid 16.2¢ per kWh in 2025. Dover Water Department reported one health-based violation to EPA in the last five years: manganese, beginning Feb 2023.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Dover, 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 Dover.
Power comes from City of Dover
City of Dover (City of Dover - (DE)), a municipal utility, serves 97.9% of Dover residents. Its homes paid an average of 16.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $131 a month (its average across Delaware).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Dover Water Department
Dover Water Department supplies almost all of Dover. It draws ground water and serves 39,491 people in all.
1 health-based violation reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026: manganese, beginning Feb 2023. 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people had none.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 2.7 ppb. That’s higher than 65% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. DE0000571.
5 home internet providers serve Dover
100% of 11,025 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 87% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| Verizon | Fiber, Fixed wireless | 96% | 2,300/2,300 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 77% | 100/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 61% | 100/20 |
| Bloosurf | Fixed wireless | 11% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Dover is Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday, depending on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Dover, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s day (Mon, Tue, Wed or Thu)Look up your day on doverde.maps.arcgis.com
- RecyclingEvery other week, same day as trashCheck which week on cityofdover.gov →
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
From cityofdover.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 23, 2026; pages dated 2019-05-22, 2025. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Dover (80%) is in Capital School District; parts are in Caesar Rodney School District (20%).
C+School gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Dover spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Dover residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Dover | ZIP’s residents in Dover |
|---|---|---|---|
| 19904 | Dover, DE | 57% | 61% |
| 19901 | Dover, DE | 42% | 45% |
A few homes fall in 19902. 19903, 19905, 19906 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.
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 Dover
Who supplies Dover’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Dover Water Department (EPA ID DE0000571). It reported 1 health-based violation to EPA in the five years to October 2026: manganese. 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Dover?
City of Dover (City of Dover - (DE)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 16.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Dover?
Xfinity, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Bloosurf (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Dover?
19904 (57%), 19901 (42%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Dover in?
Capital School District. Parts of the city are in Caesar Rodney School District.
How do I register to vote in Dover?
In Delaware you can register online until 24 days before Election Day, in person until 24 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 24 days before). Elections here are run by the Department of Elections - Kent County Office. Check your registration at ivote.de.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: Dover’s own website (cityofdover.gov), read Oct 23, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
- 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 Nov 18, 2024 (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.