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Federal water data

County water report

Lincoln County Water Report

Drinking-water compliance, watershed health, monitoring records, and river conditions for Lincoln County, Maine.

Water grade

F

Water score

36.4

State rank

#7

of 16

Health violations

6

EPA SDWIS, 5-year lookback

Watershed impaired

50.0%

2 water bodies assessed

Monitoring sites

11

468 recent measurements

Live streamflow

111%

Sheepscot River at North Whitefield, Maine

Water at a glance

Key Water Indicators for Lincoln County

EPA SDWIS

Safety Grade

F

Score: 36.4 / 100

EPA SDWIS

Active Violations

6

5-year health-based lookback

EPA ATTAINS

Watershed Health

50% impaired

2 bodies assessed

USGS NWIS

Streamflow Snapshot

111% of mean

Sheepscot River at North Whitefield, Maine

EPA WQP

Monitoring Sites

11

468 recent readings

Source: EPA SDWIS · Safe Drinking Water Information System

Drinking Water Compliance

Compliance grade

F

Based on EPA SDWIS compliance history.

Water score

Higher scores indicate cleaner recent compliance records.

36.4/100

Health violations

6

Health-based violations

Violations per 100K served

42.4

Population-normalized SDWIS rate

Editorial analysis

Understanding Lincoln County’s Water

Drinking Water Quality Overview

EPA SDWIS

Lincoln County's water systems carry a failing grade, scoring 36.4 out of 100. Over the past five years, EPA SDWIS records 6 health-based violations — a pattern that public water utilities are required to disclose and correct.

Watershed Conditions

EPA ATTAINS

Under the Clean Water Act §303(d), EPA ATTAINS tracks whether waterways meet quality standards for drinking, recreation, and aquatic life (reporting cycle: 2022). A substantial 50.0% of assessed waterways are impaired (1 of 2 water bodies) across Lincoln County's watersheds. The leading impairment causes are dioxin (including 2,3,7,8-tcdd) and polychlorinated biphenyls (pcbs). Impairment does not mean tap water is unsafe — it measures ambient waterway conditions upstream of treatment, not finished drinking water.

River & Streamflow Status

USGS NWIS

USGS NWIS gauge data (as of 2026-05-14T14:45:00.000-04:00) puts Sheepscot River at 290.0 cfs — flowing above its historical average at 111% of mean. Streamflow is a leading indicator of drought stress, sediment load, and dilution capacity: low flows concentrate pollutants and warm water temperatures, stressing aquatic life and, in surface-water-dependent systems, the source water quality for treatment plants.

Monitoring Network

EPA WQP

EPA's Water Quality Portal (WQP) aggregates monitoring data from federal, state, and tribal agencies. Lincoln County has moderate coverage with 11 active monitoring sites with 468 recent measurements on record. Predominant monitoring categories include physical and microbiological. More monitoring sites generally indicate greater scientific attention to local water conditions — and provide the baseline data that regulators use to set future impairment listings.

Editorial advisory

What the data suggests for Lincoln County

Water Verdict

Lincoln County, Maine receives a poor water quality assessment with a grade of F and a score of 36.4 out of 100. The water supply has documented quality issues. Residents are strongly encouraged to use filtered or bottled water for drinking and to stay informed about utility improvement plans. Separately, EPA ATTAINS assessments cover 2 water bodies in the county's watershed, with 50.0% listed as impaired under the Clean Water Act — a source-water measure that is tracked independently of tap-water compliance. At the most recent USGS reading, local streamflow was running above its historical mean at 111.0%.

Violation Context

EPA SDWIS records for Lincoln County, Maine show 6 health-based violations, indicating multiple instances where federal contaminant limits or treatment requirements were not met. At 42.4 violations per 100,000 people served, this rate is high and signals significant water quality management issues. Independent monitoring is comparatively sparse here — 468 water-quality results logged in the EPA Water Quality Portal over the past five years — so the utility's own reporting carries extra weight.

Consumer Guidance

Drinking-water compliance in Lincoln County is rated Grade F, reflecting significant health-based violations in the recent reporting period. Lincoln County's drinking-water compliance score is 36.4 out of 100. The violation rate for Lincoln County is 42.4 per 100,000 people served. An NSF 53 or NSF 58-certified filter is recommended for drinking and cooking water. Check the Consumer Confidence Report from your utility to identify the specific contaminants and required corrective actions — utilities are legally required to notify customers of violations. Dioxin (Including 2,3,7,8-Tcdd) is the leading impairment cause in Lincoln County's watershed. With 11 active water-quality monitoring sites in Lincoln County, data coverage is strong. A pipeline streamflow snapshot from the Sheepscot River gauge is also available on this page.

Regional Context

Lincoln County has better water quality than the average county in Maine. Its water score is 6.3 points higher than the state average, indicating stronger water system performance relative to neighboring counties.

Advisory text summarizes county-level public records and is not a replacement for your utility's current Consumer Confidence Report or direct local notices.

Contaminants & Resources

Key issues flagged in Lincoln County's water environment

Watershed Impairment Causes (EPA ATTAINS)

  • 1

    Dioxin (Including 2,3,7,8-Tcdd)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

  • 2

    Polychlorinated Biphenyls (Pcbs)

    Impairment cause per EPA Clean Water Act §303(d) assessment

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Official EPA Resources for Lincoln County

EPA How's My Waterway

Interactive watershed health data for Lincoln County

EPA ECHO: Drinking Water Systems

Search water utilities and violation records for Lincoln County

Consumer Confidence Reports (ME)

Annual water quality reports from utilities in Maine

Clean Water Act §303(d)

Watershed Health

Impaired Water Bodies

50.0%

1 of 2 assessed

Moderate concern

Top Impairment Causes

  • 1

    DIOXIN (INCLUDING 2,3,7,8-TCDD)

  • 2

    POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBS)

Source: EPA ATTAINS · Reporting cycle 2022

Impairment is determined under the Clean Water Act §303(d): a water body is impaired when it fails to meet state-defined quality standards for designated uses (drinking, recreation, aquatic life). Assessment coverage varies by state; counties without assessed water bodies are not shown.

Past 5 years

Water Quality Monitoring

Monitoring Sites

11

Active in the past 5 years

Measurements Recorded

468

468 total readings

Most Measured

  • Physical
  • Microbiological
  • Nutrient

Categories measured most frequently

Data from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), aggregating monitoring records from federal, state, and tribal sources. Each measurement represents a single sample analyzed for a specific characteristic (e.g., E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, nitrogen).

Live USGS Streamgage

River & Stream Conditions

Current Discharge

290cfs

May 14, 6:45 PM UTC

vs Long-Term Average

111%

Above typical

Primary Streamgage

Sheepscot River at North Whitefield, Maine

USGS site
01038000
Drainage area
146 sq mi
Long-term mean
261 cfs

One representative streamgage (the one with the largest drainage area in the county). Many counties have multiple gauges; this view summarizes the primary one. The long-term mean is the full-record annual average; the percent-of-typical value compares the latest reading against that average.

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Water Cost Estimate

3

3 people  ·  ~225 gal/day

Annual Total

$558

Monthly

$47

Water Bill

$558/yr

Filter Cost

$0/yr

Safety Grade for Lincoln County:F — Failing

High violation count or severe watershed conditions.

Estimates use the national average residential water rate ($0.0068/gal, EPA/AWWA 2023) and EPA WaterSense per-person consumption baseline (75 gal/person/day). Actual bills vary by utility, usage tier, and local infrastructure fees. For informational purposes only.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the water quality in Lincoln County, Maine?
Lincoln County, Maine has a drinking-water quality grade of F with a score of 36.4/100, based on EPA SDWIS compliance data. The county has 6 health-based drinking water violations over the past 5 years. Watershed health, monitoring records, and streamflow snapshots are reported separately on this page.
Are there any water violations in Lincoln County?
Lincoln County has 6 health-based drinking water violations recorded by the EPA over the past 5 years. Health-based violations indicate instances where contaminant levels exceeded EPA Maximum Contaminant Levels (MCLs). Violations may have been resolved — check with your local water utility for current status.
How healthy are the watersheds in Lincoln County?
EPA ATTAINS assessments under Clean Water Act §303(d) indicate 50.0% of Lincoln County's 2 assessed water bodies are classified as impaired (1 impaired). The top reported causes are DIOXIN (INCLUDING 2,3,7,8-TCDD), POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS (PCBS). Impairment means the water body fails to meet state quality standards for at least one designated use — drinking water source, recreation, aquatic life, or fish consumption. Note: watershed impairment doesn't always translate to tap-water issues; treatment plants can remove most regulated contaminants.
How much water-quality monitoring happens in Lincoln County?
EPA's Water Quality Portal records 468 measurements from 11 monitoring sites in Lincoln County over the past five years. The most frequently measured characteristic groups are Physical, Microbiological, Nutrient. Each measurement is a single sample analyzed for one characteristic (E. coli, pH, dissolved oxygen, etc.). High monitoring density means more scientific evidence behind any reported signal — it does not by itself indicate water quality.
What's happening with rivers in Lincoln County right now?
Lincoln County's primary USGS streamgage on the Sheepscot River has a pipeline snapshot of 290 cubic feet per second — 111% of the long-term mean of 261.29 cfs. Flow is within typical range for this gauge. For the latest gauge feed, visit waterdata.usgs.gov.
How does Lincoln County water compare to the Maine average?
Lincoln County's SDWIS water quality score of 36.4/100 is higher than the Maine state average of 30.1. The average water quality grade across Maine is F, based on data from 16 counties with available SDWIS data.
Is tap water safe to drink in Lincoln County?
Based on EPA SDWIS data, Lincoln County has a water quality grade of F (36.4/100). This indicates below-average compliance with significant violations. Residents may want to consider home water filtration or independent testing. The grade speaks to the public water system, not the watershed — for watershed-level concerns, see the Watershed Health zone. For the most up-to-date information, contact your local water utility or review your Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).
Why does Lincoln County have so many water violations?
Lincoln County has 6 health-based drinking water violations on record from the EPA SDWIS database. A higher violation count can result from aging infrastructure, underfunded water utilities, agricultural runoff contamination, or industrial pollution. Counties with more water systems may also see more violations simply due to scale. Residents concerned about water quality should consider independent water testing and home filtration systems.
How does Lincoln County rank for water quality in Maine?
Lincoln County ranks #7 out of 16 counties in Maine by SDWIS water quality score (1 = best). With a score of 36.4/100, it falls in the middle third of counties statewide. The ranking reflects EPA SDWIS compliance only — not watershed impairment, monitoring density, or streamflow, which are tracked separately on this page.

Counties with Similar Water Quality

Oxford County

Maine

F

35.2

Water score

Androscoggin County

Maine

F

38.5

Water score

Cumberland County

Maine

D

43.3

Water score

Data Sources

Drinking-water compliance data from the EPA Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS) via the ECHO enforcement database. Scores reflect compliance history and health-based violation counts.

Watershed health and impaired-waterway data from the EPA ATTAINS Clean Water Act §303(d) assessments, state-reported and EPA-finalized.

Water-quality monitoring counts from the EPA Water Quality Portal (WQP), federated USGS, EPA, and state agency sampling records over a rolling 5-year window.

Live streamflow from the USGS National Water Information System (NWIS), continuous discharge measurements from the largest-drainage gauge in each county, compared against the full-record long-term annual mean.

Disclaimer: This data is informational only. It is not health, legal, or professional advice. For concerns about your specific water supply, contact your local water utility.

By Evan Brooks, Data EditorUpdated Reviewed by Evan Brooks, Data Editor

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