BANGOR DAILY NEWS • December 12, 2022
Most water districts in Penobscot County are not finding “forever chemicals” in their drinking water supplies, but given that laboratories can’t entirely rule out their presence, there’s no guarantee the water supplies are free of the toxic chemicals. Water districts across the state are required to test their drinking water for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, also known as PFAS, by the end of the year. Three water districts have PFAS: Those based in Newport, Dexter and Patten. Their levels do not exceed the threshold at which they would be required to filter out the chemicals, but they do exceed the recommended level set by the federal government.