Portsmouth Water Division Hosts Visitors from New York City Water Treatment and Engineering Groups

Portsmouth, New Hampshire – The City of Portsmouth Water Division recently hosted ten members of New York City’s Water Treatment Operations and Engineering groups for a tour and discussion of the City’s Madbury surface water treatment facility. In addition to touring the facility the group discussed the City’s management of the Bellamy reservoir and the Madbury Dissolved Air Flotation (DAF) surface water treatment facility. 

The members of the New York City team were interested in learning how the City of Portsmouth has operated the DAF treatment system with powder activated carbon since it went online in 2011. The City of New York constructed a similar, much larger facility, in 2015 that can treat nearly 290 million gallons of water a day.

The visit gave both teams the opportunity to share experiences and treatment process information. In spite of the size difference, there are many similarities in treatment techniques, water quality concerns, and reservoir management approaches. The methods that Portsmouth Water uses to control taste and odor in the water and manage seasonal reservoir dynamics were of particular interest. The discussion also highlighted the importance of maintaining a strong network of technical peers in the field of drinking water treatment and the benefits of involvement with other water system professionals and State and regional water supply organizations. 

“Portsmouth’s Water Division welcomes this type of informational exchange because of the opportunity to share ideas and best practices with both large and small municipalities,” said DPW Deputy Director Brian Goetz, who hosted the tour.  

“We regularly offer tours of our facility to the public, other water system operators and annually for University of New Hampshire freshmen engineering students,” he noted. “We also host meetings of the New England Water Works Associations, training sessions and other educational events at various Portsmouth facilities.”

Portsmouth is recognized as a leader in municipal water treatment and has received awards for Water Sustainability, Public Communications and achievement from the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services and the New England Water Works Association.  For more information about the City’s Water Division, visit CityofPortsmouth.com/publicworks/water.