Which lab should a Maine well owner use?

Any lab certified by Maine for drinking water analysis. The state lab (HETL) in Augusta serves the whole state by mail-order kit, and certified private labs in Auburn, Winslow, Kennebunk, and Yarmouth offer local drop-off and often faster logistics. Certification is the requirement; between certified labs, choose on convenience, turnaround, and panel fit.

How long do results take?

It depends on the lab and the analytes: bacteria results tend to come back within days because the analysis itself runs on a short clock, while full chemistry panels can take longer. Ask the lab for current turnaround when you order, and build that lag into any deadline, especially a real estate contingency window.

My well has never been tested. Where do I start?

Start with a comprehensive panel: bacteria, nitrates, and the standard chemistry, plus arsenic, radon, and uranium, the invisible analytes Maine bedrock is known for. That single round establishes a baseline for every future comparison. After that, the maintenance cadence takes over: bacteria and nitrates yearly, the bedrock analytes every three to five years.

Do dug wells and drilled wells need different testing?

The same panel applies, with different emphasis. Shallow dug wells sit closer to surface influence, so bacteria and nitrate results deserve extra attention and prompt retesting after floods. Drilled bedrock wells carry the higher odds on arsenic, radon, and uranium. Since emphasis is not exemption, both types get the full Maine CDC schedule.

Does a home water treatment system change the schedule?

It adds to it. Keep the standard cadence for untreated (raw) water, and add periodic treated-water tests to verify the system performs: after installation and then on the schedule the installer recommends. Media, membranes, and lamps all exhaust gradually, and a treated-water lab result is the only honest proof of ongoing performance.

Maine well testing recommendations: the complete checklist

Maine CDC publishes a testing schedule for private wells, and it fits on an index card. What does not fit on the card is everything around it: which panel to order, from which certified lab, how the state kit process actually works, and what to do when life events scramble the calendar. This page is the whole answer in one place for Maine well owners: the cadence, the panels, the labs, the ordering steps, the costs, and a checklist you can print. When a result comes back over a guideline, the results explainer picks up where this page ends.

The Maine CDC cadence

The schedule

Per Maine CDC testing guidance. Situational rows are practical additions, not a cadence.

When	Test for
Every year	Coliform bacteria, nitrates
Every 3 to 5 years	Arsenic, radon, uranium, fluoride
After flooding or well work	Bacteria, before returning to normal use
Buying a home	Full panel, see the home-buying guide
Near a DEP sludge or septage site	PFAS, free through Maine DEP where it applies
Stains, smells, or taste changes	The analyte the symptom points to

The two-tier structure is the point. Bacteria and nitrates change fast because they track surface conditions, so they get a yearly check. Arsenic, radon, uranium, and fluoride come from bedrock and drift slowly, so every three to five years covers them. None of the four bedrock analytes announces itself: about one Maine well in 10 exceeds the arsenic standard alone, per the data collected on the arsenic page, and nearly all of those wells look, smell, and taste fine.

What the panels cover

Labs group analytes into kits, and names vary, so read contents rather than labels. Three working tiers cover most situations:

Bacteria only. Total coliform and E. coli. The yearly minimum, and the post-flood or post-repair retest.
Standard chemistry. Bacteria plus nitrate, nitrite, and the workhorse chemistry: chloride, fluoride, iron, manganese, hardness, and pH. This tier explains most staining and taste complaints, mapped on the symptoms guide.
Comprehensive. The standard chemistry plus the Maine bedrock analytes: arsenic, uranium, and radon. This is the tier that matches the full Maine CDC list, the right first test for a never-tested well, and the right pre-purchase panel. PFAS is a separate add-on where relevant, covered on the PFAS page.

Ordering from the state lab, step by step

The Health and Environmental Testing Laboratory (HETL), the state's own lab at 221 State Street in Augusta, sells test kits directly to homeowners. The process:

Order the kit from the HETL web store or by phone at (207) 287-2727. Current kit contents and prices are listed there.
The kit arrives with sample bottles, instructions, and paperwork. Read the instructions before sampling day: which tap, whether to run the water first, and how to fill each bottle differ by analyte.
Collect the sample exactly as instructed. Bacteria bottles are the fussy ones: clean hands, no rinsing the bottle, no touching the rim.
Return the kit promptly. Bacteria samples have short hold times, so collect early in the week and ship same-day or drop the kit at the lab in Augusta.
Results arrive with your values beside the guideline levels. Read them against the results explainer, and file the report with your previous ones.

The certified labs

Certification is the one hard requirement: use a lab Maine certifies for drinking water so the numbers are defensible, in negotiation and in treatment sizing. The state maintains the full certified lab list; the frequently used options for homeowners:

HETL, Augusta: the state lab, (207) 287-2727, kits by mail statewide.
A and L Laboratory, Auburn.
Northeast Laboratory Services, Winslow.
Nelson Analytical, Kennebunk.
Maine Environmental Laboratory, Yarmouth.

What testing costs

Prices vary by lab and panel, so this site quotes none; current state kit prices are on the HETL web store and each private lab publishes its own fee schedule. The scale is what matters: a single-analyte test costs a small fraction of the treatment systems it informs, which run from hundreds of dollars for an under-sink unit into the thousands for whole-house equipment per the cost guide. Testing is the cheapest decision-quality money in well ownership, and one special case is free: Maine DEP's PFAS program tests wells near licensed sludge and septage sites at no charge, reachable at (207) 287-7688 per Maine CDC.

The owner's checklist

Print this section, stick it near the electrical panel, and date the blanks. It compresses the whole page into the part you actually do.

Every year (pick a month and keep it)

☐ Bacteria and nitrate test ordered and returned. Last done: ______
☐ Wellhead walkaround: cap tight, grade slopes away, no pooling, no new hazards nearby
☐ Treatment upkeep done: RO filters, UV lamp, softener salt, media schedule
☐ Lab report filed with the previous ones

Every 3 to 5 years

☐ Arsenic. Last tested: ______
☐ Radon in water. Last tested: ______
☐ Uranium. Last tested: ______
☐ Fluoride. Last tested: ______

When it happens

☐ Flood reached the wellhead, or work done on the well or pump: bacteria retest before normal use
☐ New stain, smell, or taste: test the analyte it points to (see the symptoms guide)
☐ Buying or selling: comprehensive panel, per the home-buying guide

Two companion pages complete the routine: the home-buying guide for transaction testing, and the Maine well water guide for the full picture from geology to treatment.

Rather have someone handle the sampling?

Plenty of owners want the kit ordered, collected, and shipped by someone who does it weekly, especially on a deadline. We connect you free with an independent local professional who samples through certified labs and can quote treatment if a number comes back high.