Tank Water Heaters in Westbrook, Maine

Westbrook Homes and What They Need

Westbrook's housing splits cleanly into two eras. Census estimates put the median home at 1975: about a quarter of units date from before 1940, the old mill-town core along the Presumpscot, while roughly a quarter were built since 2000 as the city grew faster than any other in Maine between 2010 and 2020. Fewer than half of homes are single detached houses, about a fifth of units are in buildings with five or more apartments, and about 6 percent are mobile homes, a higher share than most nearby towns. Neighborhoods such as Cumberland Mills, Frenchtown and Deer Hill carry older two- and multi-family houses, while newer apartments and subdivisions fill in toward Prides Corner and the edges of town. That older half often has aging drain stacks and supply piping, and clearing old drain lines is a routine part of keeping it working.

Water Supply and Drains in Westbrook

Most of Westbrook is on public water and sewer. The Portland Water District supplies water from Sebago Lake and also treats the city's wastewater at the Westbrook Regional Wastewater Treatment Facility, which takes flow from Westbrook and parts of Gorham and discharges to the Presumpscot River; the city's Wastewater Division maintains local collection lines. Under city rules, the service line from the house to the main is the owner's responsibility, and in older neighborhoods those laterals are often decades-old clay or cast iron. The city has also campaigned against wipes and grease in drains, which are frequent causes of backups in older pipe. With low vacancy and many rental units, water heaters in multi-family buildings work hard. A tankless water heater can save space in a crowded basement where gas is available.

Getting to Know Westbrook