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Is Houlton, ME tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Houlton, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and CDC’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

Neither of the 2 utilities serving Houlton has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records.

Houlton Water Company, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 1 result above the health goal. The worst: PFOS at 4.8 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

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 Houlton’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Houlton Water Company’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Houlton

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab Maine certifies.

The lab Maine certifies closest to Houlton, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

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

ZIP codes in Houlton

Which ZIP codes are in Houlton: 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 Houlton

Other towns in Aroostook County with a page of their own.

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