Well water in Franklin County, Maine
In Franklin County, 10% of 778 private wells tested had arsenic above the Maine guideline (10 ug/L), according to Maine CDC.
938 private wells tested in state summaries; 44 individual samples from 44 wells, 1979 to 2025. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.
Maine DEP samples private wells near fields where sludge or septage was spread and near other known PFAS sources, and resamples detections. PFAS shares describe wells that were tested for a reason, not every well in the area. In that targeted sampling, 7% of 44 PFOA results in Franklin County were above the EPA limit of 4 ng/L. In that targeted sampling, 5% of 44 PFHxS results in Franklin County were above the EPA limit of 10 ng/L.
What homeowner tests found
Maine Tracking Network private well summaries: private wells tested and reported to the state. Shares are against the level the state applies to each contaminant, named in the last column; several are stricter than EPA. County and state figures combine the town summaries, weighted by wells tested; medians are not combined.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Franklin County. Above limit means above the EPA maximum contaminant level; where EPA has no enforceable limit, the row shows a health guideline or nuisance level instead.
| Contaminant | Samples | Detected | Above limit | Median | Highest | Limit | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arsenic 2001 to 2007 | 15 | 80% | 73% | 20 | 230 | 10 ug/L EPA limit | |
| PFOA 2022 to 2025 | 44 | 43% | 7% | 0 | 20.3 | 4 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFHxS 2022 to 2025 | 44 | 16% | 5% | 0 | 22.4 | 10 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFOS 2022 to 2025 | 44 | 25% | 5% | 0 | 14.8 | 4 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFNA 2022 to 2025 | 44 | 2% | 0% | 0 | 0.74 | 10 ng/L EPA limit | |
| Nitrate 1979 to 2007 | 22 | 77% | 0% | 0.09 | 1.6 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Chloride 1979 to 2003 | 30 | 100% | no limit | 1.91 | 36 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Uranium (9), Radium (226 + 228) (4), Fluoride (3), Copper (1), Lead (1), Manganese (6), Iron (6), Sodium (5).
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What this means
Among homeowners in Franklin County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (10% of 778 wells), uranium (4% of 645 wells), and fluoride (4% of 899 wells). These are ordinary wells tested by their owners, so the shares are the best available picture of a typical well here, with one caveat: people test more often when they suspect a problem.
What to test for in Franklin County
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)28 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- PFAS22 unlined landfills on record locally.
- Metals panel11 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- PFOA7% of 44 local samples were above the limit.
- PFHxS5% of 44 local samples were above the limit.
- PFOS5% of 44 local samples were above the limit.
- Uranium4% of 645 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Fluoride4% of 899 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Manganese4% of 765 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Nitrate<1% of 937 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Nitrite<1% of 938 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
Wells in Franklin County
3,267 domestic wells in Franklin County are on record with the state since 1970. 98% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 260 feet deep (one in ten goes past 425 feet).
In a typical Franklin County well, bedrock starts about 33 feet down, the median yield is 5.5 gallons per minute, 24% of wells yield under 3 gallons per minute and usually need a storage tank.
Bedrock wells are where arsenic, uranium and radon come from: the water sits in fractures in granite and metamorphic rock and picks up whatever the rock carries. That is why testing for those three matters more here than in a dug or gravel well.
Contamination sources on record in Franklin County
Maine DEP records 28 leaking underground storage tank sites, 22 unlined landfills, and 11 hazardous waste sites in Franklin County, among 106 regulated sites in total. Groundwater does not follow property lines, so a well within a few hundred feet of one of these is worth testing for what that site could release.
- 28
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 22
- unlined landfillsOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
- 11
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 45
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
- Arsenic
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange
- PFOA
- Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
- PFHxS
- Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
- PFOS
- Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
- Fluoride
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Activated alumina; Distillation
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Franklin County?
The typical domestic well in Franklin County is 260 feet deep, based on 3,267 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 425 feet. 98% are drilled into bedrock.
Is there arsenic in well water in Franklin County?
Arsenic was detected in 80% of 15 public well samples in Franklin County, and 73% were above the EPA limit of 10 ug/L. Arsenic has no taste or smell; a lab test is the only way to know your level.
How often should I test a private well in Franklin County?
Test for bacteria and nitrate every year. Test once for arsenic, uranium, radon, fluoride, manganese and PFAS, then again every three to five years or after any change in taste, color, or plumbing.
Towns in Franklin County
- Chesterville10% uranium
- East Central Franklin UT0% nitrate
- Farmington9% arsenic
- Industry3% fluoride
- Jay9% uranium
- New Sharon22% arsenic
- New Vineyard0% fluoride
- Phillips2% uranium
- Rangeley24% arsenic
- Strong0% nitrate
- Wilton1% fluoride
15 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Franklin County totals above rather than shown separately: Avon, Carrabassett Valley, Carthage, Coplin plantation, Dallas plantation, Eustis, Kingfield, North Franklin UT, Rangeley plantation, Sandy River plantation, South Franklin UT, Temple, Weld, West Central Franklin UT, Wyman UT.
Sources
- Maine DEP PFAS investigation: 176 samples in Franklin County. PFAS results for private wells sampled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 102 samples in Franklin County. Data from the Water Quality Portal, a service of USGS, EPA and USDA; groundwater samples collected by USGS and cooperators. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Maine Tracking Network private well summaries: summaries for 6 contaminants in Franklin County, up to 938 wells each. Town summaries of private well tests run by the Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory, published by Maine CDC through the Maine Tracking Network. Shares are against Maine's guideline for each analyte (arsenic 10 ug/L, uranium 30 ug/L, fluoride 2 mg/L, manganese 0.3 mg/L, nitrate 10 mg/L, nitrite 1 mg/L). Towns with too few tests are suppressed (NR). Only the share above the guideline and wells tested are published; no medians. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Maine Geological Survey well database: 3,335 well records in Franklin County, 3,267 domestic. Well construction records reported to the Maine Geological Survey by licensed well drillers. Only aggregates are shown; owner names and addresses are never stored. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Maine DEP regulated sites: 106 regulated sites located in Franklin County. Remediation sites, leaking underground storage tanks and closed municipal landfills from the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
Non-detects count as samples and are treated as zero when computing medians. Exactly at the limit counts as not above it. A sample belongs to the town containing the well's reported coordinates.