PWD is governed by an independent board of trustees and an executive director, and serves slightly over 600 households in Perry, Eastport and Sipayik, Maine.

Since it is a shallow, surface-water source, the water contains high amounts of organic matter that are exacerbated by weather events and routine system maintenance procedures.

[5][6][7] PWD's treatment facility has seen $14.9 million worth of upgrades since 2000, and state officials reported in August 2020 that the water test results were within federal regulatory limits.

[7] Since 2000, residents of Sipayik have received 49 public notices on water quality, 22 of which warned of unsafe levels of THM and haloacetic acids and stated that these contaminants can lead to "liver, kidney, and central nervous system problems and an increased risk of cancer.” The water is frequently discolored and odorous,[5][9] and runs black, brown and green when weather events or routine maintenance procedures cause excess turbidity in the reservoir.

Because THMs vaporize at room temperature and can be inhaled and absorbed through the skin,[10] it is likely that even the Sipayik residents who avoid drinking the tap water are still subject to chronic THM exposure.

The Passamaquoddy Tribe successfully obtained permits and dug a hand-pumped well from which people in need of clean drinking water can fill storage jugs in the fall of 2020.

[6] In November 2019, the Passamaquoddy Tribe of Pleasant Point received a $30,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency for water studies and testing, community outreach, reporting and action plan development.

[5] As of late September 2020, the stakeholder group had held three meetings during which the State of Maine acknowledged an ongoing public health crisis at Sipayik and pledged to aid in solutions.

Administration of the 2019 EPA grant, focused on feasibility studies for alternative water supplies, continues; and the tribe is waiting on state permits to install a roadside well using funding from the CARES act.