Well water in Columbia, Maine
In Columbia, none of 40 private wells tested had nitrate above the Maine guideline (10 mg/L), according to Maine CDC.
The strongest signal is arsenic: 44% of 25 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline, too few samples to carry the headline but first on the test list below.
40 private wells tested in state summaries; 99 test results across 9 contaminants from at least 9 wells, 1980 to 1985; sodium has the most at 13. Data refreshed September 3, 2026.
Compiled by Nick at Well Water Nerd from public records. How these pages are built
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 Columbia. 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 | Above limit | Samples | Detected | Median | Highest | Limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrate 1980 to 1985 | 11 | 100% | 0.02 | 0.2 | 10 mg/L EPA limit | |
| Sodium 1980 to 1985 | no limit | 13 | 100% | 2.8 | 52 | 20 mg/L health guideline |
| Iron 1980 to 1985 | no limit | 13 | 100% | 260 | 1,300 | 300 ug/L nuisance level |
| Chloride 1980 to 1985 | no limit | 13 | 100% | 3.8 | 15 | 250 mg/L nuisance level |
| Manganese 1980 to 1985 | no limit | 13 | 100% | 20 | 100 | 300 ug/L health guideline |
Sampled fewer than 10 times, too few to summarize: Arsenic (9), Lead (9), Fluoride (9), Copper (9).
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 Columbia who sent a sample to the state lab, the health-based limits most often exceeded were arsenic (44% of 25 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 Columbia
- 1Arsenic44% of 25 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- 2Coliform bacteriaRecommended for every private well, every year.
- 3NitrateRecommended for every private well, especially near farms or septic systems.
- 4Manganese4% of 24 local wells tested were above the Maine guideline.
- 5IronDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 6ChlorideDetected in 100% of local samples.
- 7CopperDetected in 67% of local samples.
- 8Volatile organic compounds (VOCs)1 leaking underground storage tank site on record locally.
Test your Columbia well for arsenic, coliform bacteria and nitrate
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 Columbia numbers, $29. Every line explained, ranked by what matters, with the fix for each.
Wells in Columbia
58 domestic wells in Columbia are on record with the state since 1970. 88% are drilled into bedrock, and the typical well is 225 feet deep (one in ten goes past 372 feet).
In a typical Columbia well, bedrock starts about 73 feet down, the median yield is 6 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.
The rock under Columbia
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 Columbia
Maine DEP records 1 leaking underground storage tank site in Columbia, among 2 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.
- 1
- other remediation project
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
Iron
Oxidizing filter whole-house; Water softener (low levels); Aeration plus filtration
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 arsenic
Under-sink reverse osmosis system
under-sink or countertop, about $300
Look for NSF/ANSI 58 certification listing the contaminant you need removed.
For arsenic
Whole-house arsenic and uranium filter
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $2,500
Adsorptive iron-based media; sized to your well yield.
For arsenic
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.
For iron
Iron and manganese oxidizing filter
whole-house, at the point of entry, about $1,800
Air-injection or greensand media; fixes staining at the source.
Free, no obligation
Get on the list for a free in-home water test in Columbia
No water treatment company serves Columbia 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 Columbia, and you get an email naming it first.
Common questions
How deep are wells in Columbia?
The typical domestic well in Columbia is 225 feet deep, based on 58 wells reported to the state since 1970. One in ten is deeper than 372 feet. 88% are drilled into bedrock.
How often should I test a private well in Columbia?
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 Columbia
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
- USGS Water Quality Portal: 99 samples in Columbia. 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 Columbia, up to 40 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: 65 well records in Columbia, 58 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: 2 regulated sites located in Columbia. 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.