FROM THE TAP

Is the water safe here?

A hamlet-by-hamlet answer.

Choose hamlet

Sag Harbor

Yes, if you are on public water. SCWA's Annual Water Quality Report says its supply "meets and often surpasses all water quality regulations," and since June 2025 SCWA reports all treated water it delivers is in full compliance with the federal 4 ppt limits for PFOA and PFOS. Look your address up in SCWA's See My Water Quality; if it is not on the system you are on a private well and testing is yours to do.

Tap

Price:: $0
Waste:: No waste
Safety:: Safe
Taste:: Slight chlorine on public supply.

Bottled

Price:: $1–4 / bottle
Waste:: Plastic waste
Safety:: Only necessary in red hamlets

Filtered

Price:: $30–450 up front
NSF-ANSI 53:: Berkey · ZeroWater · AquaTru · carbon-block
Recommended:: Optional NSF-ANSI 53 carbon-block pitcher (Brita Elite, ZeroWater) for taste.

Sources: SCWA Annual Water Quality Report · SCWA — See My Water Quality (address lookup) · SCWA — full compliance with federal PFAS standards (June 10, 2025) · EPA — Ground Water and Drinking Water · SCWA · PFAS · 1,4-dioxane

Check your rental address or hamlet

East End water districts

What the colors mean

Safe public water Public, contaminants flagged Private well Not yet mapped

6 districts

Filters6 districts

🟡 Public water — contaminants of concern

Suffolk County Water Authority (SCWA)

The public supplier for most of the East End: 1.1 million people on 336,418 service connections, all of it groundwater. Its service area covers Southampton, East Hampton, Riverhead and Southold towns, including Sag Harbor, which runs no water utility of its own. SCWA says it has reached full compliance with the EPA's national PFAS drinking-water limits ahead of the federal deadline.

Towns served:: Southampton, Water Mill, Bridgehampton, Sagaponack, Wainscott, East Hampton, Amagansett, Montauk, Springs, Noyac, Sag Harbor, North Sea, Tuckahoe, Hampton Bays, Quogue, East Quogue, Westhampton, Westhampton Beach, Remsenburg, Speonk, Eastport
ZIP codes:: 11932, 11937, 11930, 11963, 11968, 11976, 11962, 11975, 11946, 11959, 11942, 11977, 11978, 11960, 11972
Contact:: 631-698-9500

🟢 Public water — no current advisories

Hampton Bays Water District

A Town of Southampton district, and not a small one: 12,500 people on 6,194 connections, pumped from 11 active wells into the Glacial and Magothy aquifers. Its 2025 report states the supply is in full compliance with all federal, state and county regulations. Superintendent James Kappers answers questions on the number below.

Towns served:: Hampton Bays
ZIP codes:: 11946
Contact:: 631-728-0179

🔴 Private well — homeowner responsible

Shelter Island (mostly private wells)

Under a mandatory drought restriction right now: the Town Board allows no sprinkler irrigation between 10am and 4pm, island-wide, until further notice. Most of the island is on private wells the owner must test, but three small public systems do exist — West Neck Water District (34 connections), Dering Harbor Water District (37) and the privately run Shelter Island Heights Association (200, about 500 people). Ask your host which one the house is on, and for the last well test if it is on none of them.

Towns served:: Shelter Island, Shelter Island Heights
ZIP codes:: 11964, 11965
Contact:: 631-749-0291

🟡 Public water — contaminants of concern

Riverhead Water District

Town-operated: roughly 36,000 people drawing on 15 active wells, plus one held in reserve at the former Northrop Grumman site in Calverton under NYSDEC restrictions. The 2025 report records no violations and does not list 1,4-dioxane among detected parameters. PFAS work is still under way — granular activated carbon filtration goes in at Well 5-2A during 2026, alongside new mains for areas whose private wells were contaminated.

Towns served:: Riverhead, Wading River, Calverton
ZIP codes:: 11901, 11792, 11933
Contact:: 631-727-3205

🔴 Private well — homeowner responsible

North Fork Private Wells (Cutchogue, Mattituck, Orient, Southold)

Two answers apply here depending on the house. SCWA's service area covers the Town of Southold, and Greenport Village buys SCWA water wholesale rather than pumping its own. Away from those mains the North Fork is private-well country, and a well is the owner's to test. Ask your host which of the two the tap is on before you decide about drinking it.

Towns served:: Cutchogue, Mattituck, Southold, Orient, New Suffolk, Peconic, Laurel
ZIP codes:: 11935, 11952, 11971, 11957, 11956, 11958, 11948
Contact:: 631-698-9500

🟡 Public water — contaminants of concern

Village of Greenport Water District

The Village does not pump its own water. It sold the portion of the system outside the Village line to SCWA in 1997 and now buys SCWA water wholesale, keeping only Well Site No. 3. Its 2025 report carries a notice of violation: the required Tier 1 lead and copper sites were not sampled between June and September 2025, so quality across that window is unconfirmed. The Village says this is not an immediate risk and that the missed samples will be taken in 2026.

Towns served:: Greenport Village
ZIP codes:: 11944
Contact:: 631-477-0248

What's in the water?

PFAS ("forever chemicals"): Industrial compounds used in firefighting foam and consumer products. On the East End they have turned up in private wells — 150-plus south of East Hampton Airport in Wainscott, 57 more around Westhampton. SCWA reports its own treated supply has met the federal 4 ppt PFOA and PFOS limits since June 2025. Removed by carbon-block and reverse-osmosis filters certified to NSF/ANSI 53 or 58.
1,4-dioxane: Industrial solvent flagged in some Suffolk wells. New York State was the first in the country to set a limit, 1 ppb. SCWA's advanced-oxidation plant — hydrogen peroxide plus UV, over 97% removal — is in Central Islip, not out here. Riverhead runs no advanced oxidation and reported 1,4-dioxane non-detect across its wells in 2025.
Nitrates: Fertiliser nitrogen and on-site septic systems, not farms alone, and not private wells alone — Riverhead Water District reported nitrate up to 5.4 mg/L in 2025 against a 10 mg/L limit. Riverhead tells anyone caring for an infant to ask their healthcare provider. Carbon block does nothing for nitrate; reverse osmosis does.
Lead: Rare in East End service lines, but possible in older home plumbing. Greenport's own report says flush for several minutes, not seconds — a shower or a load of dishes does it — longer if you have a lead service line, and use cold water only for drinking, cooking and formula. Boiling does not remove lead.

What to do

🏨 Renting an Airbnb or hotel

Ask the host for the most recent water test (private well) or the SCWA report (public). Bottled water is a fine default if unsure.

🏡 Homeowner with a well

Test annually via a Suffolk DHS-certified lab. Install a whole-house carbon filter if PFAS is a regional concern, and replace filters per spec.

👶 Pregnant or infants

Use a certified PFAS-removing filter or bottled water for drinking and formula, regardless of source.

🐕 Dogs

Generally fine on the same water you'd drink. If you wouldn't drink it, don't give it to your dog.

🏖️ Public beaches & parks

Fountains where present are on SCWA municipal water and are generally safe. (Beach swimming water is a separate question — see the beaches page.)

Filter standards to look for

NSF/ANSI 53 — certified for lead and many VOCs including some PFAS.
NSF/ANSI 58 — reverse-osmosis, certified for dissolved solids including PFAS and 1,4-dioxane.
NSF/ANSI 401 — emerging contaminants including pharmaceuticals.

Source: NSF.org. Hamptons Verified does not recommend specific brands.

Building community? Visit /comunidad.

Emergencies: dial 911. This page is for planning, not medical advice.