Maine Soil Drainage Rankings

Maine

How well does the soil drain across Maine? We ranked every USDA survey area by the percentage of land classified as "well drained." Areas at the top of the list have soils where water moves through at a healthy rate — favorable for building, septic, and gardening. Areas at the bottom have more waterlogged or slowly-draining soils that may require engineered solutions.

The best-drained survey area is Oxford County Area, Maine at 33% well-drained soils. The most drainage-challenged is York County, Maine at 5%. With 33% poorly-drained soils, properties in York County, Maine should budget for drainage engineering, alternative septic designs, or raised-bed gardening.

#	Survey Area	Well Drained	Poorly Drained	Dominant Class
1	Oxford County Area, Maine	33%	15%	Well drained
2	Aroostook County, Maine, Northeastern Part	32%	31%	Well drained
3	Somerset County Area and Parts of Franklin and Oxford Counties, Maine	30%	45%	Somewhat poorly drained
4	Aroostook County, Maine, Southern Part	29%	28%	Well drained
5	Franklin County Area and Part of Somerset County, Maine	25%	42%	Well drained
6	Piscataquis County, Maine, Southern Part	24%	46%	Somewhat poorly drained
7	Somerset County, Maine, Southern Part	22%	46%	Poorly drained
8	Kennebec County, Maine	22%	26%	Moderately well drained
9	Waldo County, Maine	22%	30%	Moderately well drained
10	Penobscot County, Maine	21%	39%	Poorly drained
11	Androscoggin and Sagadahoc Counties, Maine	21%	22%	Somewhat excessively drained
12	Hancock County Area, Maine	18%	37%	Somewhat excessively drained
13	Northern Hancock and Western Washington County Area, Maine	15%	61%	Somewhat poorly drained
14	Knox and Lincoln Counties, Maine	13%	32%	Somewhat excessively drained
15	Washington County Area, Maine	13%	50%	Somewhat poorly drained
16	Penobscot County, Maine, Southern Part	12%	59%	Poorly drained
17	Cumberland County and Part of Oxford County, Maine	11%	25%	Moderately well drained
18	Western Aroostook County Area, Maine	9%	49%	Moderately well drained
19	Northern Piscataquis and Northern Somerset County Area, Maine	9%	58%	Poorly drained
20	York County, Maine	5%	33%	Somewhat excessively drained