Portsmouth, NH · EPA ID NH1951010
Is Portsmouth Water Works water safe?
👥33,000people served
⚠️0health-based violations since 2016
📋0total violations, all years
💧SWsurface water (lake, river or reservoir)
Quick answer
Portsmouth Water Works has no health-based violations since 2016 in EPA records. It serves about 33,000 people in Portsmouth, NH using surface water (lake, river or reservoir). Total violations on record (all years, including paperwork): 0. All recorded violations are marked returned to compliance or resolved.
Record status (EPA health-based violations since 2016): ✓Clean record none · •Some issues 1–2, all resolved · !Repeated issues 3 or more · !Unresolved health issue one not yet marked resolved. Paperwork-only violations do not change the status. Details
System facts
| EPA system ID | NH1951010 |
|---|---|
| Population served | 33,000 |
| Service connections | 7,200 |
| Water source | surface water (lake, river or reservoir) |
| Owner type | local government |
| Town / county | Portsmouth, Rockingham County |
Violations since 2016, in plain words
None since 2016.
"Health-based" means a contaminant went over a legal limit or a required treatment step was missed. Monitoring and reporting violations mean a test or report was late or missing; they do not by themselves mean the water was unsafe.
Full violation history
No violations on record.
What you can do
- Read the system's annual Consumer Confidence Report (water quality report); systems must mail or post it each year. You can also ask Portsmouth Water Works for it directly.
- If your home was built before 1986, lead can come from your own pipes and fixtures even when the utility's water is fine. Run the tap 30 seconds to 2 minutes before drinking if water sat for hours, and use cold water for cooking.
- If you want extra protection, choose a filter certified to NSF/ANSI 53 (lead) or 58 (reverse osmosis); a simple carbon filter certified to NSF/ANSI 42 helps mainly with chlorine taste.
- Surface water systems use disinfection, which creates byproducts (TTHM, HAA5) that are tested regularly.
- On a private well? This system's results do not apply to you. NH DES recommends testing private wells every 3-5 years for a standard analysis.