Is Long Neck, DE tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Long Neck has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and Delaware’s records.
Millsboro Water Department, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.2 ppb, above the health goal. Health goals are stricter than legal limits and are not enforced.
The water from Millsboro Water Department is soft, typically 29 mg/L (1.7 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 Long Neck’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Millsboro Water Department
Delaware · serves 8,568 people · about 240 in Long Neck
2 results above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 5.2 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 29 mg/L (1.7 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Long Neck Water Company
Delaware · serves 11,000 people · about 190 in Long Neck
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Lead at 1.1 ppb, above the health goal. Hardness: soft, typically 10 mg/L (0.6 grains per gallon).
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Artesian Northern Sussex Regional
Delaware · serves 5,511 people · under 100 in Long Neck
1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 5.7 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029. Hardness: soft, typically 34 mg/L (2 grains per gallon).
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 Millsboro 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 Long Neck
The 3 labs Delaware certifies closest to Long Neck, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Water Testing Laboratories of MD
Salisbury, MD · about 23 miles
Chesapeake Environmental Lab
Stevensville, MD · about 62 miles
Water Testing Laboratories of MD
Stevensville, MD · about 62 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 DelawareZIP codes in Long Neck
Which ZIP codes are in Long Neck: 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 Long Neck
Other towns in Sussex County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Millsboro Water Department’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- Filters for LeadRanked by certification and what they cost over five years.The best water filters for lead, ranked
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water