Scarborough Gardens, ME
Exceeded the action level in the past
Latest 90th-percentile lead: reported as 0 (not detected) (monitoring period 2023-2025). The federal action level is 15 ppb today and drops to 10 ppb in Nov 2027; EPA's health goal is 0. The latest result is under the action level, but this system has gone over 15 ppb before. Lead comes from pipes, not the source water, so a home with a lead service line can still be exposed. Test your own tap.
Who runs the water here
Scarborough Gardens serves about 45 people through 18 service connections, which makes it a very small system under EPA's size classes. It is privately owned and draws groundwater, in Cumberland County, Maine. EPA system ID: ME0091416; phone on file: 207-653-8628. Ask them for your address in their service line inventory - every system had to publish one by Oct 2024.
Every lead result on file
Against the period ending 2022 (0 ppb) the latest result is about the same. The highest 90th-percentile result EPA holds for Scarborough Gardens is 475 ppb across 12 monitoring periods, 3 of them over the 15 ppb action level.
| Period ending | 90th-percentile lead |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2022 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2021 | 1.5 ppb |
| 2020 | 0 (not detected) |
| 2019 | 3.2 ppb |
| 2018 | 8 ppb |
| 2018 | 7.5 ppb |
| 2017 | 4 ppb |
| 2017 | 22.5 ppb over 15 |
| 2016 | 7.3 ppb |
| 2016 | 100 ppb over 15 |
| 2016 | 475 ppb over 15 |
Where this result ranks
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. Scarborough Gardens's reported as 0 (not detected) sits at the 5th percentile in Maine and the 3rd nationally (higher means more lead). Systems reporting 0 tie at the bottom, so the rank mostly reflects size among them.
Neighbouring systems
28 other systems share Cumberland County; 18 of them have a higher latest lead result than Scarborough Gardens. If you are unsure which one supplies your house, the name on your water bill decides it.
| System | People | Latest lead |
|---|---|---|
| Portland Water District-Greater | 135,068 | 1.5 ppb |
| Brunswick/Topsham Water District | 18,863 | 0 (not detected) |
| Yarmouth Water District | 8,000 | 9.52 ppb |
| Bridgton Water District | 3,660 | 1.8 ppb |
| Maine Water Company Freeport Division | 2,700 | 0 (not detected) |
| Gray Water District | 2,468 | 2.3 ppb |
| South Freeport Water District | 960 | 0 (not detected) |
| Harrison Water District | 863 | 1.1 ppb |
| Friendly Village Of Gorham Mhp | 763 | 0.74 ppb |
| Knights Hill Association | 718 | 2.8 ppb |
What to do in your house
Test your own tap with a certified lab first-draw sample; Cumberland, 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 Scarborough Gardens whether it covers that cost before hiring anyone - many utilities now do. Its latest copper 90th percentile is 9000 ppb (copper action level 1,300 ppb).
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. Why an old exceedance still matters: over the limit before, under it now.