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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 five sections:
Data Management and Program Support
Engineering and State Revolving Fund
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 Unit (SSWW) exists as part of the Drinking Water Program's Water Protection section. The SSWW unit enforces and administers the Maine Subsurface Wastewater Disposal Rules and regulates on-site sewage disposal throughout Maine, in partnership with Maine municipalities and the Maine Land Use Planning Commission.
Drinking Water Program Staff Listing
Updated 7/10/2024