Well water in New Portland, Maine
In New Portland, none of 35 private wells tested had nitrate above the Maine guideline (10 mg/L), according to Maine CDC.
35 private wells tested in state summaries; 2 individual samples from 2 wells, 1990. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.
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.
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What this means
Among homeowners in New Portland who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (17% of 29 wells) and uranium (10% of 29 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 New Portland
- PFAS2 unlined landfills on record locally.
- Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)2 unlined landfills on record locally.
- Arsenic17% of 29 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Uranium10% of 29 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Manganese7% of 31 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- IronDetected in 100% of local samples.
- NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
Wells in New Portland
93 domestic wells in New Portland are on record with the state since 1988. 100% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 320 feet deep (one in ten goes past 450 feet).
In a typical New Portland well, bedrock starts about 65 feet down, the median yield is 5 gallons per minute, 29% 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 New Portland
Maine DEP records 2 unlined landfills in New Portland, among 3 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.
- 2
- unlined landfillsOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
- 1
- other remediation project
Treatment that fits the local profile
- Arsenic
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Adsorptive media (iron-based) whole-house; Anion exchange
- Uranium
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange; Whole-house anion exchange
- Manganese
- Oxidizing filter (greensand, birm) whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Point-of-use reverse osmosis
- Chloride
- Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Distillation
- Iron
- Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
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Common questions
How deep are wells in New Portland?
The typical domestic well in New Portland is 320 feet deep, based on 93 wells reported to the state since 1988. One in ten is deeper than 450 feet. 100% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in New Portland?
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
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 6 samples in New Portland. 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 New Portland, up to 35 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: 96 well records in New Portland, 93 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: 3 regulated sites located in New Portland. 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.