Mt Abram Chalet Association, ME
Lead detected, under the action levels
Latest 90th-percentile lead: 4 ppb (monitoring period 2021-2023). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. Lead was measured in sampled homes but the 90th percentile is under both action levels. EPA's health goal for lead is zero, so test your own tap if your home was built before 1986 or anyone in it is pregnant or a young child.
Who runs the water here
Mt Abram Chalet Association serves about 160 people through 64 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Oxford County, Maine. EPA system ID: ME0091870; phone on file: 207-590-2828. They can tell you what your service line is made of and whether they pay to replace it.
Lead results over time
Against the period ending 2020 (4.3 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Mt Abram Chalet Association is 13 ppb across 7 monitoring periods, none of them over 15 ppb (1 over 10 ppb).
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2023 | 4 ppb |
| 2020 | 4.3 ppb |
| 2020 | 4.3 ppb |
| 2017 | 5.2 ppb |
| 2017 | 5.2 ppb |
| 2017 | 5.2 ppb |
| 2016 | 13 ppb over 10 |
Against other Maine systems
Of the 358 Maine systems with a lead result, the median latest reading is 1.5 ppb; 2 are over 15 ppb right now and 40 have gone over at some point. Mt Abram Chalet Association's 4 ppb sits at the 83rd percentile in Maine and the 87th nationally (higher means more lead).
Other water systems in Oxford County
14 other systems share Oxford County; 2 of them have a higher latest lead result than Mt Abram Chalet Association. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Rumford Water District | 4,050 | 3.7 ppb |
| Paris Utility District | 2,940 | 2.1 ppb |
| Mexico Water District | 2,425 | 1.4 ppb |
| Fryeburg Water Company | 2,085 | 1.2 ppb |
| Norway Water District | 2,043 | 3.4 ppb |
| Bethel Water District | 1,813 | 4.9 ppb |
| Dixfield Water & Sewer Dept | 1,415 | 0 (not detected) |
| Oxford Water District | 1,100 | 2.2 ppb |
| West Paris Water District | 540 | 3.1 ppb |
| Buckfield Village Corporation | 425 | 0 (not detected) |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Saco, ME may offer free or low-cost kits through the utility. If your own line is lead, replacing the private side runs about $1,200-$12,300 (EPA average about $4,700). Ask Mt Abram Chalet Association whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do.
These figures describe homes the utility sampled, not your tap. Only your service line record or a test of your own water answers the question for your house. The lead result guide covers how utilities pick the homes they sample. Size matters more than most people expect: small vs large water systems.