Castine 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
- 983 people
- Connections
- 393
- Water source
- Groundwater influenced by surface water
- Based in
- Castine, ME
- County
- Hancock
- 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. No health-based violations on file since 2016.
What was found
Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic and haloacetic acids (HAA5): 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 5, 2012 to March 13, 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
6.8ppb
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 3.8 ppb
Averaged by year, the highest was 6.8 ppb, in 2021, below EPA’s legal limit of 80 ppb. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 3.8 ppb. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest yearly average of 23 ppb, in 2018.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Trihalomethanes (TTHM) Reduction”
Nitrate
Comes from the source
0.52ppm
Highest yearly average, 2020 to 2023
2023 average: 0.45 ppm
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.52 ppm, in 2022, below EPA’s legal limit of 10 ppm. In 2023, the latest year on file, it averaged 0.45 ppm. Earlier, from 2012 to 2019, EPA’s file shows a highest sample of 1.5 ppm, in 2013.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Nitrate/Nitrite (30 ppm challenge)”
Fluoride
Forms or is added in treatment
0.2ppm
Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019
2019: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 0.2 ppm, in 2013, below EPA’s legal limit of 4.0 ppm. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples.
What handles it
- NSF/ANSI 58 look for “Fluoride Reduction”
- NSF/ANSI 53 look for “Fluoride”
Chromium (total)
Comes from the source
1.6ppb
Highest yearly average, 2012 to 2019
2019: not found
Averaged by year, the highest was 1.6 ppb, in 2016, below EPA’s legal limit of 100 ppb. Its highest single sample was 2.4 ppb. In 2019, the latest year on file, it wasn’t found in any of its two samples.
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
- Haloacetic acids (HAA5)
- Lead
- Uranium
Violations since 2016
No health-based violations on file with EPA since 2016.
What this report can’t tell you
Everything else. Total trihalomethanes (TTHM), nitrate, arsenic and haloacetic acids (HAA5) 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. Castine 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 March 5, 2012 to March 13, 2019.
Testing your own tap
The 3 labs Maine certifies closest to the area Castine Water Department serves, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Acheron Inc. dba ClearWater Laboratory
Newport, ME · about 37 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, minerals and other inorganics
(207) 368-5786Website: Acheron Inc. dba ClearWater Laboratory
NELAnalytical
Winslow, ME · about 38 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, radioactivity
Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory
Augusta, ME · about 46 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics, organic chemicals, disinfection byproducts, PFAS, radioactivity
(207) 287-2727Website: Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory
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 ME0090330. 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 reportCastine 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