Berwick Water Department
What EPA’s and CDC’s records show in this utility’s water: nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals; lead and copper; and violations since 2016, with the certification that handles each result.
- Serves
- 2,845 people
- Connections
- 1,138
- Water source
- Surface water
- Based in
- Berwick, ME
- County
- York
- Owner
- Local government
The ZIP code it serves
The short answer
Nothing in EPA’s and CDC’s records for this utility is above a health goal. That covers nitrate, arsenic and other regulated chemicals, plus lead and copper, not everything. 4 health-based violations since 2016.
What was found
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate: Maine’s yearly averages per water system, as CDC’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network publishes them, 2020 to 2023, with EPA’s 2012 to 2019 file for earlier years.
Fluoride, chromium (total) and uranium: EPA’s compliance monitoring file, samples taken from Jan. 4, 2012 to Dec. 16, 2019. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.
Below EPA’s limits4
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)
Forms or is added in treatment
65.9ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 52.9 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 65.9 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 52.9 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 74.5 ppb, in 2012.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
Forms or is added in treatment
40.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
Averaged by year, the highest was 40.6 ppb, in 2023, below EPA’s legal limit of 60 ppb. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 71.5 ppb, in 2018, and EPA recorded violations in 2014, 2018 and 2019.
What handles it
No certification claim covers this compound yet.
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.78ppm
Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.78 ppm, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. Its highest single sample was 1.0 ppm. That was also the latest year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
1.0ppb
Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.0 ppb, in 2019, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. That was also the latest year on file.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Chromium (Hexavalent) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Chromium Reduction”
4 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
- Arsenic
- Lead
- Nitrate
- Uranium
Violations since 2016
| Contaminant or rule | Type | Period | Measured | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stage 1 Disinfectants and Disinfection Byproducts Rule | Treatment was not run by a certified operator as required.EPA: Treatment Technique No Certif. Operator | Oct. 4, 2022 | — | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | April 1, 2019 to June 30, 2019 | 0.065 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Jan. 1, 2019 to March 31, 2019 | 0.068 MG/L | Resolved |
| Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5) | The running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, Average | Oct. 1, 2018 to Dec. 31, 2018 | 0.072 MG/L | Resolved |
| Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record. 3 monitoring or reporting violations not shown. | ||||
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), haloacetic acids (HAA5), arsenic and nitrate results here are Maine’s yearly averages as CDC publishes them, from 2020 on, with EPA’s national file for 2012 to 2019. Fluoride, chromium (total) and uranium come from EPA’s file alone, which ends in 2019. Berwick Water Department’s own annual report, which it must send you every year, has newer results for those and the contaminants this page does not show.
Your own plumbing. Lead results are the 90th percentile across homes the utility samples. Your home’s service line, solder and fixtures decide yours. A certified lab test is the only way to know.
What it means for your health. This page reports what the records show and EPA’s limits and goals; it is not medical advice. If you are worried about a health effect, talk to a doctor or your local health department.
Anything after the latest data. SDWIS data is from 2026 Q3; UCMR 5 didn’t sample this utility; CDC’s yearly averages for Maine cover 2020 to 2023; EPA’s compliance samples are from Jan. 4, 2012 to Dec. 16, 2019.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Maine certifies closest to the area Berwick Water Department serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Seacoast Analytical Services
Lee, NH · about 15 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity
Nelson Analytical Lab - Maine
Kennebunk, ME · about 15 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity
Eurofins Portsmouth
Portsmouth, NH · about 16 miles
Certified for bacteria
Maine Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory: Well water test kits ordered online, from a bacteria-only test to full panels for new wells and home sales. The lab must receive the sample within 30 hours of collection. The basic safety test is $42, bacteria alone $27, first-draw lead $32, and the fuller well tests $127 to $147. Maine Private Well and Radiological Water and Air Test.
All 53 certified labs for MaineSources
- EPA UCMR 5 occurrence data, file of Oct. 15, 2026
- EPA SDWA bulk download (SDWIS federal data), 2026 Q3
- CDC Environmental Public Health Tracking Network, yearly averages Maine supplied to CDC, 2020 to 2023, read Oct. 8, 2026. TapBuff’s comparisons with EPA’s limits are its own, not CDC’s or Maine’s.
- EPA Six-Year Review 4 compliance monitoring data, 2012 to 2019, file of Feb. 5, 2024
- Certified labs: Maine CDC Drinking Water Program, all accredited laboratories and in-state commercial drinking water labs, read Oct. 10, 2026; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer
- Limits and goals: each contaminant’s page, with its EPA source.
- How this page is built: methodology.
PWSID ME0090150. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.
What to do next
- Nothing here is above a health goalIn EPA’s and CDC’s records for this utility. They don’t cover everything, which is why the next step matters.Every contaminant TapBuff tracks
- Get the utility’s own reportBerwick Water Department must send you a water quality report every year. It covers contaminants this page does not show, and has newer results than EPA’s national file for the ones here that come from it.How to read it
- Test your own tap for leadYour service line, solder and fixtures decide the lead at your faucet, not the utility’s average.Lead in your water: what to do
- Decide if you want a filter at allA filter for taste or chlorine is a preference, not a need. The standards say what each kind can do.NSF/ANSI standards, decoded