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Calais Water Dept

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
2,775 people
Connections
1,110
Water source
Groundwater
Based in
Calais, ME
County
Washington
Owner
Local government
The ZIP code it serves

04619

The short answer

1 result is above EPA’s legal limit, and 2 more are above the health goal. The worst: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), above the legal limit. 1 health-based violation since 2016.

What handles it

What was found

Lead and copper: EPA SDWIS monitoring periods ending 2009 to 2025.

Copper: EPA’s file records a utility’s copper only when it exceeds the action level. The last here was 5.5 ppm, for the period ending Dec. 31, 1993. None since is on file, so it is not counted as a current finding.

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) 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 March 10, 2014 to March 21, 2017. Newer results are in the utility’s annual water quality report.

Above the legal limit1

Total trihalomethanes (TTHM)

Forms or is added in treatment

Above the legal limit

78ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

2023 average: 63.5 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 78 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 63.5 ppb. EPA judges this limit at each sampling point, and recorded a violation for total trihalomethanes (TTHM) at this utility in 2022. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 69.5 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”

Above the health goal2

Lead

Comes from pipes, often your own

Above the health goal

2.4ppb

90th percentile, 2025

In the latest period, 9 in 10 homes sampled were at or below 2.4 ppb, below EPA’s action level of 15 ppb. The action level drops to 10 ppb on Nov. 1, 2027. EPA’s health goal for lead is zero.

What handles it

Arsenic

Comes from the source

Above the health goal

1.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2023: below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppb, but above its health goal of zero. That was also the latest year on file. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 1.0 ppb, in 2017.

What handles it

  • NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”
  • NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction”

Below EPA’s limits3

Haloacetic acids (HAA5)

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

31.3ppb

Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023

Averaged by year, the highest was 31.3 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 42.5 ppb, in 2015.

What handles it

No certification claim covers this compound yet.

Fluoride

Forms or is added in treatment

Below EPA’s limits

0.2ppm

Highest yearly average, 2014 to 2017

2017, one sample: 0.1 ppm

Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2014, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2017, the latest year on file, its one sample was 0.1 ppm.

What handles it

Chromium (total)

Comes from the source

Below EPA’s limits

1.4ppb

Highest yearly average, 2014 to 2017

2017, one sample: 1.2 ppb

Averaged by year, the highest was 1.4 ppb, in 2014, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. In 2017, the latest year on file, its one sample was 1.2 ppb.

What handles it

2 compounds tested and not foundBelow the reporting level in every sample. Not found is not the same as zero.
  • Nitrate
  • Uranium

What handles it

A certification covers specific claims, not a whole standard. Look for these claims on the certifier’s listing, not the box. Wording varies a little: NSF writes “Lead Reduction,” WQA just “Lead.”

  • NSF/ANSI 53

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: VOC Reduction; Arsenic (III) (50 ppb influent level)

  • NSF/ANSI 58

    Claims: Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction, Lead Reduction, Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=50 ppb Reduction

    For: Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), Lead, Arsenic

    Other certifiers’ wording: Arsenic (Pentavalent)<=300 ppb Reduction; Arsenic (V) (300 ppb influent level)

At the tap, or for the whole house?

Lead and copper usually come from pipes and fixtures inside or near your home. A whole-house system sits where water enters, so it cannot catch what your own plumbing adds after it. For those, the filter that counts is the one at the tap. How whole-house systems compare.

Filters with those claims on a certifier’s listing

Disclosure: TapBuff earns a commission if you buy through some links on this page. It does not change which standard or filter we name. As an Amazon Associate, TapBuff earns from qualifying purchases. How TapBuff makes money

Compare five-year costs

The best water filters for lead, ranked

The best reverse osmosis systems, ranked

Violations since 2016

Contaminant or ruleTypePeriodMeasuredStatus
TTHMThe running average was above the legal limit.EPA: Maximum Contaminant Level Violation, AverageJan. 1, 2022 to March 31, 20220.081 MG/LResolved
Health-based violations only. Resolved and archived mean the utility returned to compliance or the state closed the record.

What this report can’t tell you

  • Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), arsenic, haloacetic acids (HAA5) 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. Calais Water Dept’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 March 10, 2014 to March 21, 2017.

Testing your own tap

Calais Water Dept’s results are for the water it sends out. What your own service line, solder and fixtures add shows up only in a test of your tap, by a lab Maine certifies.

No lab Maine certifies is within 75 miles of the area Calais Water Dept serves on the state’s list. Some take samples by mail; the state’s page lists them all.

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 Maine

Sources

PWSID ME0090290. Rebuilt from EPA data on Oct. 18, 2026.

Towns it serves

Also in Washington County

All Maine utilities

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