Is Camden, DE tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 5 utilities serving Camden has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Delaware’s records.
Dover Water Department, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 37.2 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Dover Water Department is soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 23 to 117 mg/L (1.3 to 6.8 grains per gallon). How Delaware’s water compares.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Camden’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Dover Water Department
Delaware · serves 39,491 people · about 770 in Camden
2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 37.2 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Hardness: soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 23 to 117 mg/L (1.3 to 6.8 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Camden Pump District
Delaware · serves 17,208 people · about 360 in Camden
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 17.4 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Hardness: soft to hard depending on the source, 7.8 to 137 mg/L (0.5 to 8 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Garrison Lake Pump District
Delaware · serves 17,148 people · under 100 in Camden
1 result above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 16.6 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Hardness: soft to moderately hard depending on the source, 8.5 to 68 mg/L (0.5 to 4 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Camden Wyoming Sewer and Water Authority
Delaware · serves 5,000 people · under 100 in Camden
2 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 22 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. Hardness: moderately hard, 94 mg/L (5.5 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Church Creek (Awc)
Delaware · serves 9,654 people · under 100 in Camden
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 16.7 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
What handles it
Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Dover Water Department’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.
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Aquasana SmartFlow Reverse Osmosis (AQ-SFRO2)
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Lead, Arsenic
Brondell Capella RC250 Reverse Osmosis System
Under-sink reverse osmosis
- WQA listing:NSF/ANSI 42NSF/ANSI 53NSF/ANSI 58NSF/ANSI 401checked Oct. 9, 2026
Certified for: Lead, Arsenic
Water testing near Camden
The 3 labs Delaware certifies closest to Camden, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Chesapeake Environmental Lab
Stevensville, MD · about 44 miles
Water Testing Laboratories of MD
Stevensville, MD · about 44 miles
Brandywine Science Center, Inc.
Kennett Square, PA · about 51 miles
Delaware Division of Public Health: Test kits for private well owners, for bacteria plus nitrate, nitrite, iron, fluoride, sodium, hardness and other minerals. Pick one up and bring it back on a weekday at state health offices, including Newark, Smyrna and Georgetown. No charge for the kit or the testing. Private Drinking Water, Delaware Health and Social Services.
All 13 certified labs for DelawareWhich ZIP codes are in Camden: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Delaware Office of Drinking Water, approved laboratories; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Camden
Other towns in Kent County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Dover Water Department’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About LithiumWhat it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Lithium
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water