Dauphin Island is a 15-mile barrier island reached only by the Gordon Persons Bridge from the mainland and a seasonal ferry from Fort Morgan on the east end. The Census median year built is 1993 across about 2,260 housing units, with zero pre-1939 structures recorded — the entire residential stock is post-WWII, and most of it post-Frederic, the 1979 Category 4 hurricane that reshaped the island and triggered the FEMA-driven rebuild standards that have governed construction ever since.
The Dauphin Island Water & Sewer Authority, founded in 1972, draws from groundwater wells located on the island itself. Barrier-island wells live with the constant background possibility of chloride and sodium intrusion as freshwater pumped from the lens depletes faster than rainfall recharges it. The technical management lever is well-field rotation and pumping rates; at the household level, the practical answer is a dedicated point-of-use reverse-osmosis unit at the kitchen tap — RO is the only residential technology that meaningfully reduces dissolved salts.
The whole-house side of the install is dominated by salt-air-related concerns. Equipment housings need stainless or brass fittings rather than standard plated steel, and the East End vs. West End distinction matters: East End homes near Fort Gaines run shorter pipe lengths to the city's distribution backbone, while the West End cottages past DeSoto Landing have longer runs that show distribution-side aging effects sooner. Hurricane-season disruption is a real install factor — pre-season inspection of filter housings and reset of RO membranes is the standard yearly routine.