Well water in Sagadahoc County, Maine
In Sagadahoc County, 5% of 1,019 private wells tested had arsenic above the Maine guideline (10 ug/L), according to Maine CDC.
1,264 private wells tested in state summaries; 171 individual samples from 171 wells, 1967 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, 6% of 171 PFOA results in Sagadahoc County were above the EPA limit of 4 ng/L. In that targeted sampling, 2% of 171 PFOS results in Sagadahoc County 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. 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 Sagadahoc 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PFOA 2019 to 2025 | 171 | 47% | 6% | 0 | 54.2 | 4 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFOS 2019 to 2025 | 171 | 30% | 2% | 0 | 9.14 | 4 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFHxS 2021 to 2025 | 170 | 22% | 1% | 0 | 11.7 | 10 ng/L EPA limit | |
| PFNA 2021 to 2025 | 170 | 2% | 0% | 0 | 0.826 | 10 ng/L EPA limit |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Nitrate (2), Chloride (2).
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What this means
Among homeowners in Sagadahoc County who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (5% of 1,019 wells), uranium (1% of 876 wells), and fluoride (<1% of 1,246 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 Sagadahoc County
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)29 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- PFAS12 unlined landfills on record locally.
- Metals panel18 hazardous waste sites on record locally.
- Manganese9% of 1,008 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- PFOA6% of 171 local samples were above the limit.
- Arsenic5% of 1,019 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- PFOS2% of 171 local samples were above the limit.
- Uranium1% of 876 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- PFHxS1% of 170 local samples were above the limit.
- Fluoride<1% of 1,246 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Nitrate<1% of 1,264 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
Wells in Sagadahoc County
3,510 domestic wells in Sagadahoc County are on record with the state since 1970. 95% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 224 feet deep (one in ten goes past 440 feet).
In a typical Sagadahoc County well, bedrock starts about 8 feet down, the median yield is 5 gallons per minute, 28% 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 Sagadahoc County
Maine DEP records 29 leaking underground storage tank sites, 12 unlined landfills, and 18 hazardous waste sites in Sagadahoc County, among 126 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.
- 29
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 12
- unlined landfillsOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
- 18
- hazardous waste sitesSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 67
- 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
- PFOA
- 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
- PFHxS
- Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
- Chloride
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation
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Common questions
How deep are wells in Sagadahoc County?
The typical domestic well in Sagadahoc County is 224 feet deep, based on 3,510 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 440 feet. 95% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Sagadahoc 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 Sagadahoc County
- Bath18% arsenic
- Bowdoin14% arsenic
- Bowdoinham4% arsenic
- Georgetown3% arsenic
- Phippsburg3% arsenic
- Richmond3% arsenic
- Topsham8% arsenic
- West Bath2% arsenic
- Woolwich2% arsenic
2 towns have fewer than 30 public samples and are included in the Sagadahoc County totals above rather than shown separately: Arrowsic, Perkins UT.
Sources
- Maine DEP PFAS investigation: 682 samples in Sagadahoc County. PFAS results for private wells sampled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 4 samples in Sagadahoc 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 Sagadahoc County, up to 1,264 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: 3,712 well records in Sagadahoc County, 3,510 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: 126 regulated sites located in Sagadahoc 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.