Word to the wise to Hallowell residents and visitors of Hallowell’s burgeoning restaurant and café scene:  Don’t drink the water here.

Why? Hallowell’s public drinking water is contaminated with more than three times the federal safe level of toxic chemicals for human consumption. These toxins, known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (“PFAS”), are a group of manufactured chemicals that build up in people, animals, and the environment.

In Hallowell Water District’s most recent available data, Hallowell has 14.4 parts per trillion (ppt) PFAS in its drinking water. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has set a limit of 4 ppt, with a goal of eliminating these chemicals from water levels completely.

PFAS are harmful to human health. Current peer-reviewed scientific studies noted by the EPA have shown that human exposure to PFAS may lead to increased risk of cancer, including prostate, kidney and testicular cancers; developmental effects or delays in children, such as low birth rate, accelerated puberty, bone variations, or behavioral changes;  reproductive impacts such as decreased fertility and increased blood pressure in pregnant persons; interference with the body’s natural hormones; increased cholesterol levels, and among other serious health problems.

Despite the devastating impact of PFAS on human health, and despite that the Hallowell Water District has been aware of this problem, effective mitigation systems have not been implemented to deliver safe drinking water to Hallowell homes, its public elementary school, businesses, and restaurants.

Public water should not contain toxic contaminants. And if it does, water districts must take immediate efforts to protect the public and clean it up with filtration systems designed to do the job.  These measures to deliver uncontaminated water to the public have not been undertaken in Hallowell.  Worse still, the Hallowell Water District’s own reports indicate that for years, the District applied for and received waivers to be exempt from measuring PFAS, allowing them to bypass testing. This willful ignorance has put Hallowell citizens’ public health and welfare at risk.

What has Hallowell done to provide PFAS-free drinking water to the public? As of April 2024, the Hallowell Water District installed a single “PFAS Free” water spigot at the Hallowell Water District facility. For those who are able, residents may take up to 5 gallons of water per household per day. So, if residents wish to drink and cook with PFAS-free city-supplied water, they must fetch their water and truck it home. Or, for those with their own homes who can afford it, they could look into installing home water filtration systems at a cost of thousands of dollars per installation, plus upkeep and regular testing to try to guard against toxic drinking water. Safe public drinking water in Hallowell homes should not be dependent on ability to pay.

Hallowell trumpets the beauty of the Kennebec River, the quality of its schools, the vibrant downtown, and a welcoming city. The city welcomes folks to buy and rent homes in Hallowell, have and raise children, join the diverse and rich arts community, and make a home here. Yet, at the same time, Hallowell provides its public with drinking water that is unsafe for human consumption.  Chances are that many residents who turn on their kitchen faucet, serve the water to their kids, and drink from it have no idea that they are consuming water that is unsafe. This is unacceptable.

Access to uncontaminated water is the most basic of human needs, one that we assume will be met in our Maine communities. But in Hallowell, it is not.

Hallowell must make it a priority to remove PFAS from its public water supply and commit to regular testing with transparency and accountability to the public. Anything less continues to put public health at risk, a cost that will be far more to bear than investing in a public water filtration system.