Uranium is widespread in Androscoggin County wells.
1 widespread, 1 likely overstated, 4 rare out of 6 health checks.
From 10 wells tested in Androscoggin County since 2000; your own well needs its own test. How to read this
*Arsenic: All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, so this likely overstates it.
Not charted, because fewer than 10 wells were tested: radon (4).
Rare: under 5%Worth checking: 5 to 15%Widespread: 15%+
Lab results: Water Quality Portal (USGS and EPA)
Who drinks from a well here
1 in 3 people 42,405 people
Nobody else tests these wells. Only you do.
People on wells: EPA researchers' 2020 estimate
How deep wells go here
Deep wells: fewer surface germs, more minerals from the rock.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Radon risk (a gas from rock)
Likely here. Test your home's air first.
Radon zones: EPA map
Here's how Androscoggin County compares with Maine and the counties around it.
Each result puts Androscoggin County next to the 5 counties that border it, on the chart's 0 to 50% scale.
This one is widespread in Androscoggin County wells.
Uranium2 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
This one has turned up often here, mostly in study samples.
Arsenic6 of 10 wells over
* Likely overstated, so we don't rank it.
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, so this likely overstates it. A random sample of about 1,000 household wells found about 1 in 10 Maine wells over the limit.
These 4 are rare in Androscoggin County.
Manganese0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
Nitrate0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
Lead0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
Fluoride0 of 10 wells over
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
Too few Androscoggin County wells were tested for this one.
Radon in water4 wells tested
Coliform bacteria turned up in 2 of 4 tested Androscoggin County wells, so test for it every year.
Coliform bacteria2 of 4 wells had it
E. coli0 of 4 wells had it
E. coli means human or animal waste is getting in, so if a test of your Androscoggin County well finds it, boil drinking water until the well is fixed.
Iron reached staining levels in 1 of 10 tested wells, and it isn't a health risk.
Iron stains1 of 10 wells had it
Too few tested to show: Franklin, Oxford, Sagadahoc.
Most of the 10 wells tested in Androscoggin County were last tested before 2010.
An old result shows the water as it was then, so treat these 10 wells as a starting point and test your own.
Most Androscoggin County wells in these records were tested for research or because someone suspected a problem, which can push the shares above what a typical home well would show (how we read the numbers).
One mail-in lab test covers the 4 things to check in Androscoggin County.
- Bacteria
- Nitrate
- Arsenic
- Uranium
What Maine offers well owners
- Free testingWe didn't find a free program for all of Maine. Maine's private well page
- Certified labsMaine's list of certified labs
- Well recordsMaine's well record search
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet.
That comes from 5,208 household wells in Maine's drilling records. Most wells of every kind here are 162 to 400 feet deep. Wells as deep as Androscoggin County's are usually better protected from fertilizer and bacteria at the surface, but they can pick up more of what's in the rock, like arsenic and uranium. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 13 of the 15 other Maine counties with enough drilling records.
Look up your own well's depth in Maine's well record search, or see how to find it.
Well depths: US Groundwater Well Database
Here's what we know about radon and PFAS in Androscoggin County.
Androscoggin County is in the EPA's highest radon zone. Radon from well water adds to the radon in your indoor air, so test your air first, and your water too if the air is high. Radon guide
Between 2023 and 2025 the EPA had 3 town water systems in Androscoggin County test for PFAS. 1 of them had at least one test above 4 ng/L, the new EPA limit for PFOA and PFOS. The highest single result was 4.1 ng/L of PFOA. No well in Androscoggin County has public PFAS results, so the town systems are the best clue to what's in the groundwater nearby. PFAS guide
Radon zones: EPA Map of Radon Zones. PFAS: EPA tests of town water systems, 2023 to 2025
Questions people ask about well water in Androscoggin County
Is well water in Androscoggin County safe to drink?
6 of 10 wells tested in Androscoggin County had arsenic over the limit, about 6 in 10. Across Maine it's about 1 in 10. We don't rank this against other Maine counties, because most of these tests come from studies. All of these tests come from the US Geological Survey, so this likely overstates it. A random sample of about 1,000 household wells found about 1 in 10 Maine wells over the limit. So test your own well for arsenic before you count on it.
Where can I get my well tested in Androscoggin County?
Use a lab Maine has certified for drinking water. Maine's list is linked above, in the box about testing. Ask for bacteria, nitrate, arsenic and uranium, the tests that matter most in Androscoggin County.
How deep are wells in Androscoggin County?
Half the household wells here are shallower than 280 feet. Typical household wells here go deeper than in 13 of the 15 other Maine counties with enough drilling records.
How does Androscoggin County compare with the counties around it?
For arsenic, the share of tested wells over the limit: 1 of the 2 neighboring counties with data had a higher share than Androscoggin County, at 60%. Kennebec had the most, at 93%. Groundwater doesn't stop at county lines, so Kennebec's 93% is worth knowing about if you live near it.
How often should I test my well in Androscoggin County?
In Androscoggin County, 2 of 4 tested wells had coliform bacteria, so the CDC's advice matters here: test for bacteria and nitrate every year, and right away after a flood, a repair, or any change in taste or smell.
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Where the Androscoggin County numbers come from
- People on wells: 42,405 in Androscoggin County, from EPA estimates built on the 2020 Census (Murray et al.).
- Lab tests: 135 well water samples from 10 wells in the Water Quality Portal, run by the USGS and EPA, 2000 to 2023.
- Well depths: 5,208 Maine drilling records for Androscoggin County, gathered in the US Groundwater Well Database (Lin and others, 2024).
- Neighboring counties: the 5 counties that share a border with Androscoggin County, from the Census Bureau's county adjacency file.
- Arsenic for comparison: Loiselle and others (2001), cited in USGS SIR 2010-5199.
- Results marked likely overstated: our own check of who tested the wells, when and where.
- PFAS: EPA tests of 3 town water systems in Androscoggin County under the Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule, 2023 to 2025.
- Radon: Androscoggin County is zone 1 on the EPA Map of Radon Zones.
- State programs and links: Maine CDC (Department of Health and Human Services), Drinking Water Program, checked November 1, 2026.