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Augusta, Maine, April 26 – The legislature voted yesterday to pass a bill that will help ensure that all Mainers, regardless of income, have access to safe drinking water by funding residential well testing and remediation. This is an incredibly important step in Maine as a higher proportion of Mainers get their water from wells than any other state in the nation, and at least one in six wells have unsafe drinking water based on the federal standards. 

The legislation, LD 1891, was enacted unanimously in both the House and Senate and is now heading to the Governor’s desk, where she is expected to sign it. 

“It is important that everyone, no matter their economic status, have access to clean drinking water,” said lead bill sponsor Representative Jessica Fay (D-Raymond). “I’m so proud to have worked on this bipartisan bill – and to have been able to secure its funding.” 

About 70,000 Mainers currently live below the federal poverty level and cannot afford to pay for testing and remediation of their well water for contaminants like the toxic metal arsenic, which is strongly associated with health issues including bladder, skin, and lung cancer. And like its cousin lead, arsenic also harms children’s brain development. A 2014 study based in Maine showed that children with even moderate levels of arsenic in their drinking water had a decline in average IQ scores, 5 to 6 points lower than their peers drinking clean water. 

“Working to help protect Maine’s children and allowing them to reach their full potential is something we can all agree is important,” said Senator Stacy Guerin (R-Penobscot). “I was pleased to support this important legislation to ensure that even more Maine children and families have access to safe drinking water.”

LD 1891, “An Act To Continue Supporting Safe Drinking Water for Maine Families,” provides additional funding of $500K to a program established under the Maine Housing Authority (MHA) in 2017. The funding has since allowed 662 households to remediate their well water. With support from various community advocates, namely students at the Community School of Mount Desert Island who testified before the Labor and Housing Committee in support, the bill passed unanimously through the committee and made it through the legislature with strong bipartisan support. 

“At Defend, we believe that safe drinking water is a basic human right,” said Sergio Cahueque, organizer at Defend Our Health. “Access to drinking water should not depend on your income or where you live. Low-income communities, tribes, rural communities and communities of color are disproportionately impacted and more susceptible to health impacts and financial impacts of exposure to arsenic and other contaminants in drinking water.”