In Maine, more than half of all homes rely on private wells for drinking water. Many wells have levels of naturally occurring chemicals such as arsenic, radon, uranium, or other chemicals that can cause serious health effects such as cancer or low birth weight. These contaminants can only be detected through laboratory testing. Private well owners are responsible for testing their own water and correcting any problems.
The number of children under the age of six years newly identified with lead poisoning in Maine has been decreasing steadily over many years.
But lead poisoning continues to threaten children’s health and development.
Showering and taking a bath in well water high in arsenic are not significant arsenic exposure sources for children and adults, according to a new study by the Maine CDC and US CDC.
This is good news for the tens of thousands of Maine residents who likely have too much arsenic in their well water. Bathing in contaminated well water is one of the top concerns voiced by the more than 700 Mainers who seek well water advice from Maine CDC experts each year.
Updated May 2018: Read the 2018 tickborne content update for new information on Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and babesiosis data.
After a major release of data last week, local data about Lyme disease and deer ticks are now publicly available through the Maine Tracking Network’s interactive data portal. The Maine CDC made the town-level data available in response to increasing requests from municipalities, local organizations and residents trying to make informed decisions about Lyme disease prevention strategies.
The Maine Tracking Network released a suite of new data related to private well water quality and testing this week. The release is a sentinel moment for the network, making town-level summary measures for tens of thousands of well water test results for arsenic, uranium, fluoride, and other analytes available to anyone for the first time in Maine.
In April, 2014, the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) published a how-to video to clarify the procedures of a water test for people who rely on a private, domestic well for drinking water.
Available on YouTube, and on DVD by request, the 3-minute video shows all the steps involved in a water test and emphasizes the most important things private well owners should know when testing their well water.
October 21-27, 2018, is National Lead Poisoning Prevention Week and we are spreading the word about how to protect children from lead. Data describing childhood lead poisoning, screening tests, and risk factors on the Maine Tracking Network help organizations understand and respond to the issue in their community.
How often are near real-time data updated? For the Maine Tracking Network’s new data dashboard for tickborne diseases, it can be daily.