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State profile · EPA SDWIS + UCMR5

Maine Drinking Water Quality

1,864 public water systems serve 936,624 people across Maine, with every Safe Drinking Water Act violation and UCMR5 PFAS result on record.

1,864
Water systems
148,796
Total violations
93.6%
Systems w/ a violation
34.1%
PFAS detection rate

The verdict

Across Maine, 1,744 of 1,864 water systems (93.6%) carry at least one EPA violation, and 14 of 41 UCMR5-tested systems show PFAS.

148,796
Total EPA violations on record
16%
Health-based (MCL / treatment)
93.6%
Systems with ≥1 violation
34.1%
UCMR5 PFAS detection rate
Water Systems
1,864
Total Violations
148,796
Violation Rate
93.6%
PFAS Detection
34.1%
14 of 41 tested

Violation Composition

How Maine's 148,796 violations break down by type, per EPA SDWIS classification.

Health-based (23,741) Monitoring/Reporting (125,055)
Metric Value Share
Public water systems1,864-
Population served936,624-
Total violations148,796100%
Health-based violations23,74116.0%
Systems with violations1,74493.6%
PFAS detection rate14 of 4134.1%

Health-based violations indicate the contaminant exceeded an EPA Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) or treatment-technique requirement. Monitoring/reporting violations indicate procedural issues (missed tests, late reports) - not necessarily a contamination event.

Largest Water Systems

Portland Water District-Greater
Portland, ME · 135,068 served
20 violations
Maine Water Company Biddeford Saco Div
Poland, ME · 42,508 served
39 violations
Kennebunk, Kennebunkport & Wells WD
Kennebunk, ME · 35,663 served
33 violations
Bangor Water District
Bangor, ME · 27,298 served
8 violations
Lewiston Water & Sewer Division
Lewiston, ME · 23,720 served
19 violations
Kennebec Water District
Waterville, ME · 22,060 served
46 violations
Maine Water Company Camden & Rockland
Poland, ME · 21,315 served
25 violations
Brunswick/Topsham Water District
Topsham, ME · 18,250 served
109 violations
Auburn Water District
Lisbon, ME · 17,245 served
44 violations
Kittery Water District
Kittery, ME · 14,478 served
44 violations
Sanford Water District
Sanford, ME · 14,328 served
45 violations
Greater Augusta Utility District
Augusta, ME · 13,750 served
12 violations
York Water District
York, ME · 13,675 served
20 violations
Bath Water District
Bath, ME · 9,290 served
33 violations
Gardiner Water District
Gardiner, ME · 9,000 served
63 violations
Brewer Water Department
Brewer, ME · 8,860 served
23 violations
Boothbay Region Water District
Boothbay, ME · 8,448 served
25 violations
Yarmouth Water District
Yarmouth, ME · 8,000 served
47 violations
Old Town Water District
Old Town, ME · 7,648 served
12 violations
Lisbon Water Department
Lisbon, ME · 6,643 served
57 violations

Most Violations

#1 Shelbys Cafe LLC St Albans
1,500
#2 Birch Tree Meadows MHP Bar Harbor
1,017
#3 Home Inc & Learning Center Orland
897
#4 West Shore Development Sebago
875
#5 Chippers Restaurant & Deli Hancock
857
#6 Willowbrook Mobile Home Park Hermon
829
#7 Hancock Village MHP Castine
810
#8 Boudreau Trailer Park Princeton
793
#9 Millstone Apartments Brunswick
765
#10 Acadia Lobster Co Trenton
757
#11 Wooded Grove Mobile Home Park Kenduskeag
739
#12 North Haven Water Department North Haven
734
#13 St Francis Water District St Francis
665
#14 Teed Up Together Saint David
659
#15 Mars Hill and Blaine Water Company Mars Hill
596

Counties in Maine

Cumberland
224 systems · 217,874 served · 17,731 violations
York
190 systems · 164,445 served · 12,163 violations
Penobscot
168 systems · 92,443 served · 15,780 violations
Kennebec
169 systems · 79,399 served · 9,772 violations
Androscoggin
94 systems · 70,047 served · 4,940 violations
Hancock
201 systems · 46,973 served · 21,298 violations
Aroostook
124 systems · 40,588 served · 14,153 violations
Oxford
134 systems · 40,326 served · 8,473 violations
Somerset
100 systems · 33,494 served · 10,674 violations
Knox
47 systems · 30,692 served · 3,529 violations
Lincoln
86 systems · 24,371 served · 6,555 violations
Franklin
61 systems · 22,669 served · 3,907 violations
Washington
108 systems · 22,237 served · 7,972 violations
Waldo
77 systems · 19,984 served · 5,716 violations
Sagadahoc
39 systems · 19,254 served · 2,951 violations
Piscataquis
42 systems · 11,828 served · 3,182 violations
View all 1,864 systems in Maine →

Drinking Water Guides

Is Your Tap Water Safe?

How to interpret water quality reports and know when to take action.
PFAS in Drinking Water

What forever chemicals are, EPA testing results, and 2024 standards.
Check Your Water System

Step-by-step guide to finding and understanding your local water data.

Frequently Asked Questions

How many water systems are in Maine? ▼
Maine has 1,864 public water systems serving approximately 936,624 people. These include community water systems, non-transient non-community systems, and transient non-community systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.
How many drinking water violations are in Maine? ▼
Maine has 148,796 total drinking water violations on record, with 23,741 classified as health-based violations. 93.6% of water systems in the state have at least one violation.
Has PFAS been found in Maine drinking water? ▼
Of 41 water systems tested for PFAS in Maine, 14 had PFAS detected, a 34.1% detection rate. PFAS are persistent "forever chemicals" that do not break down in the environment.
What is the violation rate for Maine water systems? ▼
Maine's violation rate is 93.6%. This measures the percentage of public water systems that have at least one recorded violation in the EPA SDWIS database, including both health-based and monitoring/reporting violations.
Where does this Maine water data come from? ▼
All drinking water data comes from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) and the UCMR5 PFAS monitoring program. SDWIS is the federal database that tracks compliance for all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Data Sources & Methodology

Drinking water violation data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS). PFAS testing data from the UCMR5 monitoring program. SDWIS tracks all public water systems regulated under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Related

All states → | Most violations → | Compare counties →
Data sourced from EPA SDWIS and UCMR5 PFAS monitoring data. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainWater Editorial

Every figure on PlainWater is rendered directly from EPA SDWIS drinking-water data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on EPA SDWIS data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.