Wilmington, DE Water Quality (ZIP 19804)

Quick Answers

Is ZIP 19804 tap water safe to drink? Water for ZIP 19804 shows high PFAS contamination. EPA testing found a peak of 1,800 ppt, above the EPA's 4 ppt enforceable limit. A reverse osmosis or certified PFAS filter is strongly recommended.

What filter should I use in 19804? A reverse osmosis system (NSF/ANSI 58) removes 90%+ of PFAS, lead, and arsenic. For smaller households, an NSF-53 certified pitcher (Clearly Filtered, ZeroWater) works. Standard Brita cartridges are not certified for PFAS.

ZIP 19804 Water Quality Summary

EPA testing has detected PFAS "forever chemicals" in the water systems serving ZIP 19804 (Wilmington, DE). Monitoring found a peak of 1,800 ppt across 3 systems, averaging 8.01 ppt over 11 detected compounds.

Contamination Level: HIGH – High contamination – multiple PFAS compounds detected at levels significantly above EPA safety thresholds.

Top Detected Compounds in ZIP 19804

• PFOS: 1,800 ppt (exceeds the EPA 4 ppt limit)
• PFHXS: 680 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)
• PFOA: 140 ppt (exceeds the EPA 4 ppt limit)
• PFHPA: 80 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)
• PFNA: 53.8 ppt (exceeds the EPA 10 ppt limit)

Lead in ZIP 19804 Water

EPA Lead and Copper Rule testing recorded 10 lead samples for the systems serving 19804, with a 90th-percentile high of 0.0056 mg/L (within the EPA 0.015 mg/L action level). There is no safe level of lead for children; homes built before 1986 should use a certified NSF/ANSI 53 lead filter.

EPA Violations Affecting ZIP 19804

The water systems serving 19804 have 5 health-based EPA Safe Drinking Water Act violations on record, including 1925, 1032, Selenium. A health-based violation means a contaminant exceeded its federal limit or required treatment was not applied.

About the Data

Source: EPA UCMR5 monitoring (2023-2025), Lead and Copper Rule samples, and SDWIS violation records tied to the water system that serves 19804 in Wilmington, DE.

Beyond water: other exposures in Wilmington, DE

Drinking water is one exposure route. These are the other federal datasets that cover ZIP 19804 and New Castle County, DE.

Radon risk in New Castle County, DE

The EPA places New Castle County, DE in Zone 2 - a moderate-risk category, with a predicted average indoor radon level between 2 and 4 pCi/L. Zone maps predict the radon potential of an area from geology and existing indoor readings - they do not describe any individual home. Radon is the leading cause of lung cancer among people who have never smoked, and the only way to know your own level is a test kit.

Lead paint risk in New Castle County, DE

Census figures show 57% of homes in New Castle County, DE were built before 1980, and 17% before 1950. Lead-based paint was banned for residential use in 1978, so older housing stock is the strongest available proxy for lead-paint exposure. This is a statistic about the county's housing, not a test of any particular property - if your home predates 1980, a lead swab test is the way to check.

Air quality in New Castle County, DE

Modelled annual fine-particle pollution (PM2.5) for New Castle County, DE averages 7.5 µg/m³, within the EPA's annual PM2.5 standard of 9 µg/m³. PM2.5 is the pollution fraction small enough to reach deep into the lungs. These are CDC modelled estimates for the county as a whole, not a reading taken at this ZIP code.

Superfund sites near 19804

There are 3 EPA Superfund (National Priorities List) sites within about five miles of 19804: E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Co., Inc. (Newport Pigment Plant Landfill) (about 0.7 miles); Koppers Co., Inc. (Newport Plant) (about 0.9 miles); East Basin Road Groundwater (about 3.2 miles). Distances are measured from the ZIP code's geographic centre, so the distance from a specific address will differ. Proximity to a listed site is a fact about location - it is not itself evidence of exposure.

Industrial releases near 19804

EPA Toxics Release Inventory data for 2023 records 5 reporting facilities within about five miles of 19804, together reporting roughly 134,626 pounds of on-site chemical releases that year. TRI covers facilities above federal reporting thresholds, so smaller sources are not included, and a reported release is not the same as a measured concentration in air or water.