On Long Beach Island, your water depends on which section you live in
Long Beach Island water depends on where you stand on it. Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, Ship Bottom and Beach Haven run their own departments, and Long Beach Township pumps its own wells in some sections and buys from those neighbors in others.
Sources checked .
Every system here draws from deep wells, most of them hundreds of feet down. The aquifer labels below are the reports' own. They disagree in places, so we left them as written. Some of these figures are old, because we could not read the scanned images of Long Beach Township's 2026 reports.
| Section | Supplier | Wells and aquifer, as reported |
|---|---|---|
| Barnegat Light | Barnegat Light Water Department | Three wells, Piney Point Aquifer, over 600 feet |
| High Bar Harbor, Loveladies North | Bought from Barnegat Light | Same as above (2025 report) |
| Harvey Cedars | Harvey Cedars Water Department | Two wells, Atlantic City Aquifer |
| Loveladies South | Bought from Harvey Cedars | Same as above (2025 report) |
| Surf City | Surf City Water Department | Three wells, Atlantic City Aquifer, over 500 feet (2025) |
| North Beach | Bought from Surf City | Same as above (2025 report) |
| Ship Bottom | Borough of Ship Bottom | Two wells, Atlantic City Aquifer, over 600 feet (2026) |
| Brant Beach, Beach Haven Terrace and nearby | Long Beach Township | Five wells, Atlantic City Aquifer System, over 500 feet (2023) |
| Holgate | Long Beach Township | Two wells, over 450 feet, stated as Kirkwood-Cohansey Aquifer System (2025) |
| Beach Haven | Beach Haven water department | "Kirkwood Aquifer, approximately 650 feet deep" (2025) |
Annual reports named below; years shown; Barnegat Light and Harvey Cedars read through Long Beach Township's reports
What is different about island water?
The depth and the salt question. The state's Water Supply Plan calls the 800-foot sand "vital to the water-supply needs of barrier island communities" and warns of saltwater intrusion along seaward and bayward margins of the aquifers. It names Barnegat Light as a coastal Piney Point pumping center. USGS reports that Atlantic City 800-foot sand levels remain below sea level throughout coastal southern New Jersey. That is a concern for those aquifers over time. It is no finding about your tap. Our brief on deep wells and salt goes further.
The High Bar report also notes sodium above the recommended upper limit in the Barnegat Light water it buys, so anyone watching sodium should read that page. Beach Haven's report describes aeration and filtration for iron and lime for pH, and adds that the state's assessment names the Atlantic City 800-foot Sand and Kirkwood-Cohansey Water-table systems.
Is the island in the Pinelands?
None of its towns appears on the Commission's 2021 list of Ocean County towns in the State Pinelands Area, so those rules are unlikely to be your first question. That list covers the State Pinelands Area only.
Who handles the sewage?
Barnegat Light, Beach Haven's sewerage authority, Harvey Cedars, Long Beach Township, Ship Bottom and Surf City are all named as customers of the Ocean County Utilities Authority. How to tell septic from sewer covers any house in doubt.
What did Sandy do here?
The National Hurricane Center reported as much as 4 to 5 feet of inundation on Long Beach Island. Elevated houses have their own plumbing questions, which what changed under your house takes up. Backwater valves have a story of their own.
Who to ask
- Your borough or township water department: which system serves your address and its latest report.
- Long Beach Township: section reports, including the 2026 scans.
- Ocean County Utilities Authority: sewer service questions your town cannot answer.
Read next for Long Beach Island
On a well
- A well must be tested before a sale can close
- New Jersey's sale test has checked wells for three PFAS since 2021
- Two yearly tests catch the problems a well owner cannot taste
- After floodwater reaches a well, the pump stays off until someone checks wiring
- Deep wells on the coast draw on sands the state is watching
- If road salt worries you, add chloride to the test
On town water
- Ocean County's water comes from many suppliers and several different aquifers
- When the utility's PFAS notice arrives, start with the limit it names
- Your water report is mostly one table, and it reads left to right
- The letter about your service line comes from a 2021 state law
- Somewhere near the curb, the water line becomes yours
Septic & sewer
- The board of health signs off on septic work, and owners report trouble
- Selling a house with a cesspool usually means the cesspool has to go
- After a flood, leave the septic tank alone until the field drains
- Septic or sewer? The bill and the health department file can settle it
- A sewer-line valve can stop a backup, if the house has sewer
Raised houses
- Lifting a house moves the plumbing into the weather and the flood
- Those holes in the foundation wall are required, and must stay open
- A raised house puts its water lines out in the cold
- Where the water heater goes once the house goes up
- After the water drops, leave the switches and pilot lights alone
- Salt air works on the metal holding your pipes up
Lagoons & bay
Where this comes from
- Long Beach Township report index - all section reports.
- High Bar Harbor 2025 report and 2020 report - Barnegat Light supply, sodium.
- Loveladies South 2025 report - Harvey Cedars supply.
- North Beach 2025 report and Surf City 2025 report - Surf City wells.
- Ship Bottom 2026 report - wells and aquifer.
- Brant Beach 2023 report and Holgate 2025 report - township wells.
- Beach Haven 2025 report - aquifer, treatment.
- NJ Water Supply Plan Appendix B - aquifers and saltwater.
- USGS Atlantic City model page - water levels.
- Ocean County Utilities Authority home page - customer list (archived copy).
- National Hurricane Center Sandy report - inundation.