Is Sanford Water District Tap Water Safe? Quality Report

Water source: Ground water
Ownership: Local government
Counties served: York

Compliance record

Formal violations the EPA has on file for this supplier. A health-based violation means a contaminant limit or a required treatment was breached; the rest are monitoring or reporting failures — still violations, but not a measured health risk.

health-based violations

violations on file

still open

Violation	Type	Status	Period
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-08-01 → 2007-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-08-01 → 2007-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-08-01 → 2007-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-08-01 → 2007-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-08-01 → 2007-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-08-01 → 2007-08-31
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-04-01 → 2007-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-04-01 → 2007-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-04-01 → 2007-04-30
MCL	Health-based	Resolved	2007-04-01 → 2007-04-30

PFAS detected

PFAS are industrial “forever chemicals”. These are the EPA's latest nationwide test results (2023–2025).

Contaminant	Max	Detection rate	Period
PFOS	0.0071 µg/L	5/12	2025
Pfhpa	0.0044 µg/L	2/12	2025
Pfhxa	0.0073 µg/L	2/12	2025
PFHXS	0.0033 µg/L	2/12	2025
PFOA	0.0068 µg/L	2/12	2025
Pfpea	0.0107 µg/L	2/12	2025
Pfba	0.0050 µg/L	1/12	2025

Other contaminants detected

Each bar shows the measured level as a share of the EPA limit: green is well under, amber is close to it, red is over. For lead and copper the limit applies to exactly the 90th-percentile figure shown, so red there means a real exceedance. For everything else the limit applies to a running annual average while the figure is the 95th percentile of this system's samples — over 100% is worth reading, but is not by itself a violation. Where a single sample came in higher than that percentile, it is noted under the bar. Formal violations are listed separately.

Contaminant	Level vs EPA limit	Detection rate	Source	Period
Fluoride	870 µg/L 22% of the EPA limit 4000 µg/L worst single sample: 1100 µg/L	206/207	SYR4	2012–2019
Copper	468 µg/L 36% of the EPA limit 1300 µg/L worst single sample: 505 µg/L	73/173	SYR4	2012–2019
Chromium	6.9 µg/L 6.9% of the EPA limit 100 µg/L worst single sample: 10 µg/L	72/111	SYR4	2012–2019
Barium	28.95 µg/L 1.4% of the EPA limit 2000 µg/L worst single sample: 59 µg/L	68/111	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	15.5 µg/L 103% of the EPA limit, at the 95th percentile of samples — 15 µg/L worst single sample: 27 µg/L	26/173	SYR4	2012–2019
TTHM	18.2 µg/L 23% of the EPA limit 80 µg/L worst single sample: 22.7 µg/L	16/16	SYR4	2012–2019
Lead	0.0030 mg/L 20% of the EPA limit 0.0150 mg/L	14/14	LCR	2023
Nitrate	1600 µg/L 16% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L	12/236	SYR4	2012–2019
Arsenic	3.55 µg/L 36% of the EPA limit 10 µg/L worst single sample: 4 µg/L	10/111	SYR4	2012–2019
Nitrate-Nitrite	1525 µg/L 15% of the EPA limit 10000 µg/L worst single sample: 1600 µg/L	6/116	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Uranium	2.2 µg/L 7.3% of the EPA limit 30 µg/L	5/14	SYR4	2016–2017
Cadmium	2.7 µg/L 54% of the EPA limit 5 µg/L worst single sample: 3 µg/L	4/108	SYR4	2012–2019
Total Haloacetic Acids (HAA5)	9.19 µg/L 15% of the EPA limit 60 µg/L worst single sample: 9.9 µg/L	3/16	SYR4	2012–2019
Antimony, Total	1 µg/L 17% of the EPA limit 6 µg/L	1/78	SYR4	2012–2019
Combined Radium (-226 And -228)	1.09 pCi/L 22% of the EPA limit 5 pCi/L	1/4	SYR4	2016–2017
Gross Alpha, Excl. Radon And U	3.5 pCi/L 23% of the EPA limit 15 pCi/L	1/12	SYR4	2015–2017
Toluene	1.1 µg/L 0.1% of the EPA limit 1000 µg/L	1/135	SYR4	2012–2019

72 contaminants tested, none detected

1,1,1-Trichloroethane1,1,2-Trichloroethane1,1-Dichloroethylene1,2,4-Trichlorobenzene1,2-Dichloroethane1,2-Dichloropropane11Cl-PF3OUdS2,4,5-TP2,4-D4:2 Fts6:2 Fts8:2 Fts9Cl-PF3ONSAdonaAtrazineBhc-GammaBenzeneBeryllium, TotalChlorobenzeneCyanideCarbofuranCarbon TetrachlorideChlordaneDichloromethaneDalaponDi(2-ethylhexyl) AdipateDi(2-ethylhexyl) PhthalateDinosebEndrinEthylbenzeneHexachlorobenzeneHfpo-DaHeptachlorHeptachlor EpoxideHexachlorocyclopentadieneLassoMercuryMethoxychlorNetfosaaNfdhaNmefosaaNitriteOxamylPFBSPfdaPfdoaPfeesaPfhpsPfmbaPfmpaPFNAPfpesPftaPftrdaPfunaPentachlorophenolPicloramSeleniumSimazineStyreneTetrachloroethyleneThallium, TotalTotal Polychlorinated Biphenyls (PCB)ToxapheneTrichloroethyleneVinyl ChlorideXylenes, Totalcis-1,2-DichloroethyleneLithiumO-DichlorobenzeneP-Dichlorobenzenetrans-1,2-Dichloroethylene

Utility contact

Contact: PARENT, DAVID
Phone: 207-324-2312
Email: [email protected]

Frequently asked questions about Sanford Water District

Is Sanford Water District tap water safe to drink?

EPA monitoring detected 24 contaminants in Sanford Water District's water. A detection isn't the same as a violation — most levels are within federal limits. See each level and source above, and the utility's annual Consumer Confidence Report for its official compliance status.

What contaminants were detected in Sanford Water District's water?

EPA monitoring detected Fluoride, Copper, Chromium, Barium, Lead, and others. The full list with the level and data source for each is above.

How many people does Sanford Water District serve?

Sanford Water District reports serving 14,328 people in Maine, per its EPA record.

Has Sanford Water District had any water quality violations?

The EPA has 44 violations on file for Sanford Water District, of which 36 are health-based (a contaminant limit or required treatment was breached) and 0 remain open. The rest are monitoring or reporting failures.

Where does this data come from?

Every figure is official EPA drinking-water monitoring — the Lead & Copper Rule, the UCMR-5 nationwide testing program, and the EPA Six-Year Review — not our own testing. Each number is labelled with its source and period.