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Is the drought draining your well? What Mainers can do.

It’s official: all of Maine is now in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Since it began in early August in southern Maine, the drought has spread across all 32,500 square miles of the state and affects all of its 1.3 million residents, according to Thursday’s update, which is based on data collected through Tuesday and does not include Wednesday’s rainfall. As the drought has deepened, the number of people reporting dry or nearly dry private wells in 2025 has increased from 303 last week to 364, as of Friday. More than a quarter of the dry wells are in Oxford County — the epicenter of the current drought. About half of Maine residents get their drinking water from a well. What do they need to know as the drought persists? We asked Maine’s state geologist, Ryan P. Gordon. The Maine Geological Survey has been fielding a lot of dry well calls since the drought began in early August, he said. “Water is the kind of thing you don’t think about until you need it,” Gordon said. “If you lose water, if the well you’ve always used without a second thought goes dry, then finding out how that can be fixed or replaced becomes your whole life.” WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS? When groundwater levels drop below a well’s pump, the well itself may not be empty, but it also can’t draw water, spelling a sudden end to showers, washing or lawn watering. Before it goes dry, however, Gordon said many well owners will experience a sudden decline of water pressure when a household is drawing a lot of water for multiple purposes: running the dishwasher when showering, for example. Faucets may sputter as the pump sucks at water and dry air, he said. They may emit cloudy or discolored water, tainted by sediment kicked up from the bottom of the well. The water may smell or taste different. If the pressure returns after an hour or so, a homeowner can assume the well is almost empty. If not, call a plumber to check for a problem with the pump, pressure tank or sensor, he said. WHAT CAN I DO IF MY WELL IS RUNNING LOW? The first thing Gordon recommends is water conservation tactics to give your well time to replenish the water you use: skip watering lawns, stagger family shower times and program overnight dish and clothes washings. “Those kind of things can actually help a lot and keep you off bottled water,” Gordon said. IS IT SAFE TO DRINK WATER FROM A WELL THAT IS RUNNING LOW? Homeowners should not drink discolored or cloudy water, Gordon said. But a well that was previously deemed safe through regular water testing does not become unsafe to drink just because it is running low, he said. During drought, the underground aquifer that feeds a well isn’t being naturally recharged by rainfall. This can lead to rising concentrations of pollutants from runoff, higher salinity and cloudiness, and elevated levels of natural contaminants like arsenic, Gordon said. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual well water testing for the most common contaminants — coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrates and nitrites. Testing for other threats, like arsenic and uranium, should be done every three to five years. “A drought is as good a time as any to get your water tested,” Gordon said. IS IT SAFE TO STORE PURCHASED WATER IN A DRY WELL? While it may be a common practice in Maine, it is not safe to add water bought from a bulk supplier to a dry drinking water well, Gordon said. It could add a contaminant to your well and, in rare cases, damage the well, according to the Maine Drinking Water Program. At best, a homeowner will buy a day or two of normal water use before the water added to the well seeps back into the aquifer that it usually draws from, Gordon said. “In drought, the water you pour down the well gets out, and does so pretty quickly,“ Gordon said. “It’s a waste of money, and it could end up causing more problems.” The Maine Drinking Water Program recommends using bottled water or cistern systems as a temporary emergency water supply. WHAT IF MY WELL STAYS DRY? Homeowners should report a dry well to the state to help it track drought impacts, Gordon said. The Maine CDC Drinking Water Program offers free technical advice about drinking water quality, ideal well location and well drilling rules, best practices and construction standards. For more information, call 207-215-7124. It also keeps a partial list of fee-based bulk water haulers on its website. Individual towns may offer additional local resources to affected homeowners. “There isn’t much we can do for them,” said Cammie Sprague, deputy director of the Oxford County Emergency Management Agency. “We refer people to local natural springs where they can get water that is tested by the state, so you know it’s safe, but that’s about all we can do.” The amount of time it takes for a dry well to replenish varies, Gordon said. Generally, he said, a shallow well goes dry faster than a deep one, but it will also recover faster. Wells can also fail, too, if the fissures that allow groundwater in get clogged. A homeowner will want to weigh these issues with a private hydrologist or well driller, he said. While some dry well customers will get expedited service from local well drillers, others are facing monthslong wait times. The average Maine well is 100 to 200 feet deep, Gordon said. Some of those could be extended deeper into the ground, he said. Extending existing wells doesn’t always pay off because the rock fissures that allow groundwater to seep into the well generally decrease the deeper you go. Financial assistance to drill new wells may be available for low-income Mainers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s single-family housing repair loans and grants program and a home repair program run by the Maine State Housing Authority.

Penelope Overton •
Is the drought draining your well? What Mainers can do.
It’s official: all of Maine is now in a drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. Since it began in early August in southern Maine, the drought has spread across all 32,500 square miles of the state and affects all of its 1.3 million residents, according to Thursday’s update, which is based on data collected through Tuesday and does not include Wednesday’s rainfall. As the drought has deepened, the number of people reporting dry or nearly dry private wells in 2025 has increased from 303 last week to 364, as of Friday. More than a quarter of the dry wells are in Oxford County — the epicenter of the current drought. About half of Maine residents get their drinking water from a well. What do they need to know as the drought persists? We asked Maine’s state geologist, Ryan P. Gordon. The Maine Geological Survey has been fielding a lot of dry well calls since the drought began in early August, he said. “Water is the kind of thing you don’t think about until you need it,” Gordon said. “If you lose water, if the well you’ve always used without a second thought goes dry, then finding out how that can be fixed or replaced becomes your whole life.” WHAT ARE THE WARNING SIGNS? When groundwater levels drop below a well’s pump, the well itself may not be empty, but it also can’t draw water, spelling a sudden end to showers, washing or lawn watering. Before it goes dry, however, Gordon said many well owners will experience a sudden decline of water pressure when a household is drawing a lot of water for multiple purposes: running the dishwasher when showering, for example. Faucets may sputter as the pump sucks at water and dry air, he said. They may emit cloudy or discolored water, tainted by sediment kicked up from the bottom of the well. The water may smell or taste different. If the pressure returns after an hour or so, a homeowner can assume the well is almost empty. If not, call a plumber to check for a problem with the pump, pressure tank or sensor, he said. WHAT CAN I DO IF MY WELL IS RUNNING LOW? The first thing Gordon recommends is water conservation tactics to give your well time to replenish the water you use: skip watering lawns, stagger family shower times and program overnight dish and clothes washings. “Those kind of things can actually help a lot and keep you off bottled water,” Gordon said. IS IT SAFE TO DRINK WATER FROM A WELL THAT IS RUNNING LOW? Homeowners should not drink discolored or cloudy water, Gordon said. But a well that was previously deemed safe through regular water testing does not become unsafe to drink just because it is running low, he said. During drought, the underground aquifer that feeds a well isn’t being naturally recharged by rainfall. This can lead to rising concentrations of pollutants from runoff, higher salinity and cloudiness, and elevated levels of natural contaminants like arsenic, Gordon said. The Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention recommends annual well water testing for the most common contaminants — coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrates and nitrites. Testing for other threats, like arsenic and uranium, should be done every three to five years. “A drought is as good a time as any to get your water tested,” Gordon said. IS IT SAFE TO STORE PURCHASED WATER IN A DRY WELL? While it may be a common practice in Maine, it is not safe to add water bought from a bulk supplier to a dry drinking water well, Gordon said. It could add a contaminant to your well and, in rare cases, damage the well, according to the Maine Drinking Water Program. At best, a homeowner will buy a day or two of normal water use before the water added to the well seeps back into the aquifer that it usually draws from, Gordon said. “In drought, the water you pour down the well gets out, and does so pretty quickly,“ Gordon said. “It’s a waste of money, and it could end up causing more problems.” The Maine Drinking Water Program recommends using bottled water or cistern systems as a temporary emergency water supply. WHAT IF MY WELL STAYS DRY? Homeowners should report a dry well to the state to help it track drought impacts, Gordon said. The Maine CDC Drinking Water Program offers free technical advice about drinking water quality, ideal well location and well drilling rules, best practices and construction standards. For more information, call 207-215-7124. It also keeps a partial list of fee-based bulk water haulers on its website. Individual towns may offer additional local resources to affected homeowners. “There isn’t much we can do for them,” said Cammie Sprague, deputy director of the Oxford County Emergency Management Agency. “We refer people to local natural springs where they can get water that is tested by the state, so you know it’s safe, but that’s about all we can do.” The amount of time it takes for a dry well to replenish varies, Gordon said. Generally, he said, a shallow well goes dry faster than a deep one, but it will also recover faster. Wells can also fail, too, if the fissures that allow groundwater in get clogged. A homeowner will want to weigh these issues with a private hydrologist or well driller, he said. While some dry well customers will get expedited service from local well drillers, others are facing monthslong wait times. The average Maine well is 100 to 200 feet deep, Gordon said. Some of those could be extended deeper into the ground, he said. Extending existing wells doesn’t always pay off because the rock fissures that allow groundwater to seep into the well generally decrease the deeper you go. Financial assistance to drill new wells may be available for low-income Mainers through the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s single-family housing repair loans and grants program and a home repair program run by the Maine State Housing Authority.
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