PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • January 8, 2026
The residents of a large Gorham mobile home park have been left without safe drinking water for two weeks since learning their community wells tested just over the state limit for harmful forever chemicals. The state is working with the owner of Friendly Village to address the problem. To comply with Maine law, the park must now either install a water treatment system, drill a new clean well or hook up to the municipal water system. Because Friendly Village was not tested as part of Maine’s sludge spreading investigation the cost of resolving the problem falls to the park owner, not the state. Maine has spent more than $100 million as it became a national leader in the fight against per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, but state officials say dwindling funds will soon force it to make difficult choices about whom to help.