Is the water in Brunswick safe? (Portland: house, buy, organic)

[yellowanchor]

Hey guys.
Brunswick is on a short list of Maine towns I've been thinking of possibly moving to.

I stumbled upon the Wikipedia page of the old Naval Air Station and read about Environmental problems with PFCs leaching into the water.

Are any of these issues with the local water isolated to the grounds of the base, or is there an overall issue with these chemicals containing groundwater in the greater area? If so, how far does it go? Would this effect water as far away as Portland?

I have had issues with drinking water in other areas I have lived and one of my main needs while looking at a place to live is clean, healthy water. Was really let down when I read this about Brunswick as it was at the top of my list.

Appreciate any input.

[CARas2020]

Filter the water. We are on city water where we live but when i was diagnosed with cancer I started to drink only filtered water. We use a Brita and it seems to work pretty well. Kind of pain to keep refilling the pitcher. We may have to look into one that goes on the faucet.

[yellowanchor]

Originally Posted by CARas2020

Filter the water. We are on city water where we live but when i was diagnosed with cancer I started to drink only filtered water. We use a Brita and it seems to work pretty well. Kind of pain to keep refilling the pitcher. We may have to look into one that goes on the faucet.

Thanks, I'm specifically interested in info on Brunswick and the Naval base and the questions above and how it relates to the groundwater and drinking water.

Was your cancer related to the drinking water or did you start using a filter for other reasons?

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by CARas2020

Filter the water. We are on city water where we live but when i was diagnosed with cancer I started to drink only filtered water. We use a Brita and it seems to work pretty well. Kind of pain to keep refilling the pitcher. We may have to look into one that goes on the faucet.

From what I could find online, Brita does not claim that any of their filters remove PFCs. The model you get should come with an NSF certification/list of what it actually does filter out and to what level.

OP in order to determine whether a particular house's water contains PFCs or other contaminants you'd need to get it tested by an independent lab. It will vary by location. If you would have municipally-provided water (not a private well) you would need to research the water utility's record for PFC removal. One way to avoid groundwater contaminants is to install a rainwater catchment/cistern.

[yellowanchor]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

From what I could find online, Brita does not claim that any of their filters remove PFCs. The model you get should come with an NSF certification/list of what it actually does filter out and to what level.

OP in order to determine whether a particular house's water contains PFCs or other contaminants you'd need to get it tested by an independent lab. It will vary by location. If you would have municipally-provided water (not a private well) you would need to research the water utility's record for PFC removal. One way to avoid groundwater contaminants is to install a rainwater catchment/cistern.

Yes, I would plan on doing that, but in general (since I am still just trying to find an area to move to), does the Brunswick or even Portland area have issues with PFCs or other harmful contaminants in the groundwater and tap water? This is what I am trying to find information on and it is very hard (which concerns me)

Thanks for the help.

[jdhpa]

You could contact the municipal water supply folks:

https://www.btwater.org/contact

Let us know what they say, I'm sure others will be interested to know as well.

[yellowanchor]

Originally Posted by jdhpa

You could contact the municipal water supply folks:

https://www.btwater.org/contact

Let us know what they say, I'm sure others will be interested to know as well.

Yeah, I probably will. Was hoping someone local had some info though since I don't know how the water district will respond to that kind of stuff. I know my current district downplays some pretty serious contaminates in the water.

[CARas2020]

Originally Posted by yellowanchor

Thanks, I'm specifically interested in info on Brunswick and the Naval base and the questions above and how it relates to the groundwater and drinking water.

Was your cancer related to the drinking water or did you start using a filter for other reasons?

I do not think it was related to water. Where I grew up we had well water. I truly think this cancer was just a random thing. I was genetically tested and found no mutations. I started to drink filtered water because I wanted to be sure it was safe as I was severely immune compromised due to chemo therapy. I am now cancer free for 6 months and feeling good. I still get blood work done and see my oncologist every three months.

[yellowanchor]

Originally Posted by CARas2020

I do not think it was related to water. Where I grew up we had well water. I truly think this cancer was just a random thing. I was genetically tested and found no mutations. I started to drink filtered water because I wanted to be sure it was safe as I was severely immune compromised due to chemo therapy. I am now cancer free for 6 months and feeling good. I still get blood work done and see my oncologist every three months.

Congratulations on being cancer free!

[OutdoorLover]

I don't know about the water situation there, but I believe that an activated carbon filtration system can remove PFCs as well as most organic chemicals from water pretty well. If I questioned my water safety, and wanted to be sure drinking water was safe, I'd want to put in an undersink inline filtration system at the kitchen sink. These are big enough to have pretty good capacity (so they can filter a good deal of water before cartridge replacement), but they're not very expensive like a whole house water filtration solution. You can plumb something to the main faucet at the kitchen sink, but you can also get a sink with an extra faucet hole and then install a dedicated faucet for this filtered drinking water - that way the filter is only used for water you drink (as opposed to wash dishes with, for example).

Something like this - you can normally buy different cartridges from the maker to solve different problems, e.g. a sediment filter, ion-exchange filter, activated carbon filter, etc., and if you have more than one issue you can run different filters in series, or if it's just one problem you can run the same cartridge type in both/all three filtering units. Note that these two also come with their own dedicated faucet you'd mount in the 4th hole of the sink flange for drinking water only:

Aquasana higher capacity 3-stage filter
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Aquasana...0-56/301782813

Aquasana smaller 2-stage filter
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Aquasana...0-56/204352500