Is Berwick, ME tap water safe?
The short answer
2 of the 3 utilities serving Berwick have a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records: Berwick Water Department and South Berwick Water District.
Berwick Water Department, which serves the most people here, has nothing above a health goal in EPA’s and CDC’s records. That data covers what its report lists, not everything.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Berwick’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
Berwick Water Department
Maine · serves 2,845 people · under 100 in Berwick
Nothing in its records is above a health goal.
4 health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Sunrise Hill Estates
Maine · serves 100 people · under 100 in Berwick
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 3.0 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
South Berwick Water District
Maine · serves 3,722 people · lists Berwick among the places it serves
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 6.5 ppb, above the health goal.
5 health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Berwick
The 3 labs Maine certifies closest to Berwick, 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 MaineZIP codes in Berwick
Which ZIP codes are in Berwick: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Maine CDC Drinking Water Program, all accredited laboratories and in-state commercial drinking water labs; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Berwick
Other towns in York County with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read Berwick Water Department’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- 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
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water