Well water in Winterport, Maine
In Winterport, 2% of 159 private wells tested had arsenic above the Maine guideline (10 ug/L), according to Maine CDC.
The strongest signal is PFOA: 17% of 29 local samples were above the limit, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
204 private wells tested in state summaries; 116 test results across 4 contaminants from at least 29 wells, 2023 to 2024; PFOA has the most at 29. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
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, 17% of 29 PFOA results in Winterport were above the EPA limit of 4 ng/L. In that targeted sampling, 0% of 29 PFHxS results in Winterport 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.
What individual samples found
Each row summarizes every public sample for that contaminant inside Winterport. 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.
Closer than the town
See the sampled wells near your address
The same records, drawn around one point: which wells within a few miles were sampled and what they found, how deep the wells next to you were drilled, and any leaking tank or cleanup site within a mile.
Check my addressWhat this means
Among homeowners in Winterport who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (2% of 159 wells), uranium (<1% of 144 wells), and fluoride (<1% of 191 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 Winterport
- 1PFOA17% of 29 local samples were above the limit.
- 2Arsenic2% of 159 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- 3Uranium<1% of 144 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- 4Fluoride<1% of 191 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- 5Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 6NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 7Manganese3% of 158 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)2 leaking underground storage tank sites on record locally.
- 9PFAS1 unlined landfill on record locally.
- 10Metals panel1 hazardous waste site on record locally.
Test your Winterport well for PFOA, arsenic and uranium
Certified lab analysis of your own tap water, bottles and prepaid return shipping included. The Essential well panel covers arsenic, uranium, nitrate, lead, copper, manganese, iron, sodium and bacteria; radon and PFAS are add-ons.
Order the Tap Score well water test kit, from $209Already tested? Upload the report
Just want bacteria checked first? Tap Score coliform and E. coli test, $99. Coliform and E. coli are the tests every well needs every year.
Want a quick look before paying for a lab? Home well water test strips on Amazon check hardness, iron, pH and nitrate in minutes. They are a screen, not a result: arsenic, bacteria, uranium and PFAS need a certified lab.
Affiliate links: the merchant pays us a commission and the price is the same for you. It does not change what the data above says. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.
Where to get a well tested in Maine: certified labs, state programs and prices.
Already have results back? Get your lab report read against the Winterport numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Winterport
300 domestic wells in Winterport are on record with the state since 1970. 99% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 240 feet deep (one in ten goes past 423 feet).
In a typical Winterport well, bedrock starts about 25 feet down, the median yield is 8 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.
The rock under Winterport
Not a principal aquifer
The USGS map places this area outside any principal aquifer, which usually means wells here draw from fractured bedrock or thin local deposits rather than a large regional aquifer. Bedrock wells of that kind are where arsenic, radon and uranium turn up, and yields vary from well to well.
Classification from the USGS Principal Aquifers of the United States (national map, 2003 edition, GIS release 2015), read at the town centroid. A single well can sit in a different unit, especially near a boundary.
Official help in Maine
Two places to start that are not selling anything: the state program that answers private well questions, and its list of labs certified to run drinking water tests. A certified lab is the difference between a result you can act on and a number.
- Private Well Water, Maine CDC
- Laboratory Accreditation, Maine CDC
Contamination sources on record in Winterport
Maine DEP records 2 leaking underground storage tank sites, 1 unlined landfill, and 1 hazardous waste site in Winterport, 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.
- 2
- leaking underground storage tank sitesGasoline and heating oil that leaked from tanks move through groundwater as benzene, MTBE and other volatile organic compounds.
- 1
- unlined landfillOlder unlined landfills are a leading source of PFAS, VOCs and metals in nearby wells.
- 1
- hazardous waste siteSolvents, degreasers and metals from industrial sites can travel far in fractured bedrock.
- 1
- other remediation project
Treatment that fits the local profile
PFOA
Granular activated carbon whole-house; Point-of-use reverse osmosis; Anion exchange
Systems we would look at first
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through one, the merchant pays us a commission at no extra cost to you. It does not change which products we list or what the data says.
For PFOA
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For PFOA
Whole-house PFAS carbon system
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $3,000
Granular activated carbon certified to NSF/ANSI 53 for PFOA and PFOS; replace media on schedule.
For PFOA
Aquasana SmartFlow reverse osmosis
under-sink or countertop, about $225
Certified to NSF/ANSI 58 and 53 to reduce arsenic (96%, pentavalent), fluoride (90%), lead (99%), nitrate, nitrite and PFOA/PFOS at the kitchen tap, with a remineralizer.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Winterport
No water treatment company serves Winterport through Well Water Nerd yet. We are signing licensed companies on county by county: they test at your tap for free, walk you through the numbers, and quote treatment only if something needs fixing. Leave your details and you are first in line. Nothing is shared until a company joins for Winterport, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Winterport?
The typical domestic well in Winterport is 240 feet deep, based on 300 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 423 feet. 99% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Winterport?
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 near Winterport
Closest first. Groundwater does not stop at a line on a map, so the next town over is a fair second opinion.
Want the numbers themselves? Download the Maine dataset as CSV, every county and town, with the sources named.
Sources
- Maine DEP PFAS investigation: 116 samples in Winterport. PFAS results for private wells sampled by the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Retrieved September 3, 2026.
- Maine Tracking Network private well summaries: summaries for 6 contaminants in Winterport, up to 204 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: 304 well records in Winterport, 300 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 Winterport. 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.