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Drinking Water Program
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- Subsurface Wastewater Unit
About the Maine CDC Drinking Water Program
“Working Together for Safe Drinking Water”
Program Mission
The Maine CDC Drinking Water Program (DWP) works to ensure safe drinking water in Maine, to protect public health, by administering and enforcing drinking water and subsurface wastewater regulations, providing education and technical and financial assistance.
Overview
Drinking water is often taken for granted. And yet, safe, clean drinking water is an essential part of public health protection. The Drinking Water Program was created by the Maine Legislature through Maine’s Water for Human Consumption Act to ensure that public drinking water systems in Maine are protected, treated, monitored, and well managed. The DWP is responsible for overseeing public water systems throughout Maine, administering the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act and the Maine Rules Relating to Drinking Water (MS Word). Examples of public water systems include water utilities, mobile home parks, nursing homes, schools, factories, restaurants, and campgrounds. The DWP works with more than 1,800 public water systems to help ensure that they provide safe, secure, and reliable drinking water to over 750,000 people across Maine.
The DWP is organized into three teams: Engineering and Water Resources, Data Management and Program Support, and Public Water System Inspection. Each team plays a crucial role in ensuring that Maine’s public water systems continually provide safe, reliable drinking water to their customers.
Core Concepts
The Drinking Water Program promotes four core concepts of source protection, sampling, treatment, and maintaining distribution and storage, encouraging water systems to continually work to identify, reduce, and eliminate risks and vulnerabilities to their water systems. The core concepts help public water systems ensure the drinking water they serve to their customers is safe.
Learn more about Drinking Water Core Concepts
The Subsurface Wastewater Team exists within the Drinking Water Program to enforce and administer the Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules and regulate on-site sewage disposal throughout Maine, in partnership with Maine municipalities and the Maine Land Use Planning Commission.
Drinking Water Program Staff Listing
Updated 5/24/2023
