Well water in Orrington, Maine
In Orrington, 5% of 187 private wells tested had arsenic above the Maine guideline (10 ug/L), according to Maine CDC.
218 private wells tested in state summaries; 17 individual samples from 17 wells, 1962 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, 12% of 17 PFOS results in Orrington were above the EPA limit of 4 ng/L. In that targeted sampling, 0% of 17 PFOA results in Orrington were above the EPA limit of 4 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.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Orrington. 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.
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What this means
Among homeowners in Orrington who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (5% of 187 wells), nitrate (1% of 213 wells), and uranium (1% of 172 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 Orrington
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)1 leaking underground storage tank site on record locally.
- Metals panel2 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- PFOS12% of 17 local samples were above the limit.
- Manganese6% of 177 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Arsenic5% of 187 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Nitrate1% of 213 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Uranium1% of 172 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
Wells in Orrington
341 domestic wells in Orrington are on record with the state since 1970. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 225 feet deep (one in ten goes past 405 feet).
In a typical Orrington well, bedrock starts about 18 feet down, the median yield is 7 gallons per minute, 16% 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 Orrington
Maine DEP records 1 leaking underground storage tank site and 2 hazardous waste sites in Orrington, among 5 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.
- 1
- leaking underground storage tank siteGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 2
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 2
- other remediation projects
Treatment that fits the local profile
- Arsenic
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange
- Manganese
- Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
- PFOS
- Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
- Chloride
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation
Book a free water test in Orrington
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Orrington?
The typical domestic well in Orrington is 225 feet deep, based on 341 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 405 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Orrington?
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.
Sources
- Maine DEP PFAS investigation: 68 samples in Orrington. PFAS results for private wells sampled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 3 samples in Orrington. 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 Orrington, up to 218 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: 348 well records in Orrington, 341 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: 5 regulated sites located in Orrington. 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.