South Windham, Maine
South Windham CDP water on the opened Portland Water District 2026 Annual Water Quality Report (2025 data, PWSID ME 0091300). The report names a South Windham Post Stage 2 sample site on the Greater Portland table. Chloramine residual and hardness as CaCO3 printed.
Maine · Salt-softener legality
- Hardness7.2 mg/L as CaCO3
- Chloramine2.40 mg/L (1.99–2.64)
Best match for South Windham
Whole-house catalytic carbon for chloramine
No district prohibition on a brine drain turned up in the current file.
Catalytic carbon with a chloramine claim (NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine). Regular chlorine carbon is the wrong box.
Also for the kitchen
Under-sink reverse osmosis
The under-sink RO we actually run is Cloud RO — NSF/ANSI 58, kitchen tap, not a whole-house tank. Check the exact listing if PFAS is why you are shopping. Shop Amazon first for under-sink RO, or buy Cloud direct. Waterdrop is a tankless option if you want that path. A certifier-listed pitcher is the cheap first step. Nobody is paying for a medical claim.
Shop under-sink reverse osmosisBuy Cloud RO directShop Waterdrop reverse osmosisShop PFAS-listed pitchers
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Other options that still fit
Do not buy a softener on this supply
This supply is soft on the published numbers. A salt tank is usually the wrong box unless you are on a well or a different utility. Test the tap before you buy hardness equipment.
Softener vs carbon vs under-sink RO
A sketch for South Windham, tied to this file’s best match. Not a quote.
| Box | What it does | Ballpark (estimate) |
|---|---|---|
| Salt-based softener | Removes hardness. Needs a drain. Illegal in some sewer districts. | About $800–$2,500 for a common residential unit (equipment). Installed jobs run higher. |
| Whole-house carbonThis file’s match | Chlorine or chloramine taste — match the listing. Does not soften. | About $400–$1,800 for a typical tank-and-head kit (equipment). |
| Under-sink reverse osmosisThis file’s match | Kitchen tap. Check NSF/ANSI 58 if PFAS or nitrate is why you are shopping. | About $200–$600 on Amazon search; named under-sink units vary. |
These are ballpark equipment ranges, not installed quotes and not what a dealer will write on a kitchen-table sheet. Prices move. Confirm the sewer rule before you price a brine tank.
On the report
- Water utility
- PORTLAND WATER DISTRICT
- Hardness
- 2025 mineral-content table: hardness 7.2 mg/L as CaCO3. — Portland Water District 2026 Annual Water Quality Report (PWSID ME 0091300)
- Disinfectant
- Chloramine residual 2025 average 2.40 mg/L (range 1.99–2.64) on the Greater Portland Detected Regulated Substances table. — Portland Water District 2026 Annual Water Quality Report (PWSID ME 0091300)
- Brine / salt to the sewer
- No district prohibition found in current research. Searched city water and sewer pages for a residential self-regenerating softener or brine-drain ban like LACSD Measure S. None turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain.
Also around here
Extra context besides the utility report and the chart above — geology, an unregulated table, or a published study. Not a second set of printed tap numbers.
- MicroplasticsWHO’s 2019 review examined studies that found microplastic particles in treated tap and bottled water in many places. That is a published-occurrence finding, not a number from this city’s water-quality report, and we do not invent a particles-per-liter count for the tap.Microplastics in drinking-water — World Health Organization
- PFASEPA’s Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule required community systems this size to test 29 PFAS and lithium in 2023–2025. Open the UCMR 5 Data Finder for this PWS. This file does not invent a detection.Fifth Unregulated Contaminant Monitoring Rule — U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
South Windham drinking water on this file is PORTLAND WATER DISTRICT (PWSID ME 0091300 Greater Portland). The opened 2026 report names a South Windham Post Stage 2 TTHM and HAA5 sample site on the Greater Portland table. This is leftover Maine South Windham CDP, not leftover North Windham, South Portland, or Westbrook, which that booklet does not name. Searched city water and sewer pages for a residential self-regenerating softener or brine-drain ban like LACSD Measure S. None turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain. This is not a legal opinion.
The opened 2026 report prints hardness of 7.2 mg/L as CaCO3 and a chloramine residual average of 2.40 mg/L (1.99–2.64). Kitchen shopping stays the Cloud RO / Waterdrop path already used on other cities if a listing is why you are looking.
Questions this file can answer
How hard is South Windham tap water?
2025 mineral-content table: hardness 7.2 mg/L as CaCO3. Source on the file: Portland Water District 2026 Annual Water Quality Report (PWSID ME 0091300).
Does South Windham use chlorine or chloramine?
Chloramine residual 2025 average 2.40 mg/L (range 1.99–2.64) on the Greater Portland Detected Regulated Substances table. Source on the file: Portland Water District 2026 Annual Water Quality Report (PWSID ME 0091300).
Is a salt-based water softener legal in South Windham?
No district prohibition found in the current file. Searched city water and sewer pages for a residential self-regenerating softener or brine-drain ban like LACSD Measure S. None turned up. Ask the sewer agency on the bill before you cut a brine drain. No district prohibition on a brine drain turned up in the current file. This is not a legal opinion.
What treatment does this South Windham file match?
Best match on this file: Whole-house catalytic carbon for chloramine. Catalytic carbon with a chloramine claim (NSF/ANSI 42 for chloramine). Regular chlorine carbon is the wrong box.
Sources
- Portland Water District 2026 Annual Water Quality Report (PWSID ME 0091300) — Portland Water District. Accessed 2026-09-12.
Updated September 12, 2026. A city file is chemistry we can cite plus the sewer rule. No invented detections.