Transient Non-Community · PWSID ME0002544

The Cottages at China Lake

Serves 48 peopleGroundwaterOwner: PrivateKennebunk, Maine
1 open treatment violation.

Open for: Revised Total Coliform Rule. EPA counts treatment-technique violations as health-based: a required protective step was not done. It is not a measurement of contamination.

On record since 2012: 10 violations. 1 over the limit · 2 treatment lapses · 1 missed or late test · 6 notices or reports. Most recent began 2025-06-01.

For this year's test results, ask the utility for its annual Consumer Confidence Report. Every community system must publish one.

1Over the limit
2Treatment lapse1 open
1Missed or late test
6Notice or report5 open

More violations on record than 69% of active water systems in Maine. Small systems with no staff chemist often rack up missed-test violations; big utilities rarely do.

The record, year by year

200520102012 · Notice or report: 22012 · Notice or report: 22014 · Over the limit: 12014 · Missed or late test: 12014 · Notice or report: 32014 · Notice or report: 32014 · Notice or report: 3201520202022 · Treatment lapse: 12022 · Notice or report: 12025 · Treatment lapse: 12025
One square = one violation, by the year it began. Empty columns are years with nothing on EPA's record.
10% over the limit · 120% treatment lapse · 210% missed or late test · 160% notice or report · 6

Across Maine, 59% of violations are missed or late tests and 3% are water over a limit.

What you can do

  • Total Coliform Bacteria: If your water system has coliform violations, consider boiling water or using bottled water until the system confirms the issue is resolved. Contact your water provider for their latest test results and any boil-water advisories.

Open now (6)

  1. 2025-06-01Revised Total Coliform RuleTTOpen
  2. 2014-11-01Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  3. 2014-10-29Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  4. 2014-09-05Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  5. 2012-11-10Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  6. 2012-11-02Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen

Every violation on record

  1. 2025-06-01Revised Total Coliform RuleTTOpen
  2. 2022-11-18Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationBack in compliance
  3. 2022-06-01Revised Total Coliform RuleTTBack in compliance
  4. 2014-11-01Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  5. 2014-10-29Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  6. 2014-09-05Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  7. 2014-08-01Coliform (TCR)Monitoring, Routine Major (TCR)Back in compliance
  8. 2014-07-01Coliform (TCR)MCL, Monthly (TCR)Back in compliance
  9. 2012-11-10Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen
  10. 2012-11-02Public NoticePN Violation for NPDWR ViolationOpen

System details

Population served48
Service connections1
Water sourceGroundwater
System typeTransient Non-Community
OwnerPrivate
StatusActive
CityKennebunk
EPA ZIP on file04043

Areas served

  • China, Kennebec County

Reading this record

The Cottages at China Lake is a transient non-community that draws from groundwater and serves about 48 people in Kennebunk, Maine. Everything above comes from the EPA's Safe Drinking Water Information System (SDWIS), where states report every violation by every public water system.

Four kinds of violation. Only one is a measurement of the water: over the limit means a test came back above a legal maximum (an MCL). A treatment lapse means a required protective step was not done, such as disinfection, filtration, fixing a defect an inspector found, or filing a lead-pipe inventory. A missed or late test means a required test was skipped or never reported. That is the most common kind, and the most misread: it does not mean the water was bad, and it does not mean the water was fine. Notices and reports covers public notices and the annual Consumer Confidence Report.

Status. “Back in compliance” means the state recorded a return to compliance. “Period ended” means the violation's compliance period is over but no return to compliance was ever filed, which is common in older records. EPA's federal copy lags state records by months, so call the utility for anything current.