Water Supply Status Report 2020 Year in Review

Water

January 26, 2021

Portsmouth & Pease International Tradeport 
Water Supply Status Report
2020 Year in Review – January 26, 2021

HIGHLIGHTS OF 2020
The following report provides a summary of the water system operations for the Portsmouth and Pease International Tradeport drinking water systems. Highlights from 2020 for both water systems include:

  • The Portsmouth and Pease drinking water systems had no drinking water quality violations in 2020.
  • Water Production:
    • 3.7 Million Gallons – Average Day
    • 6.1 Million Gallons – Maximum Day
    • 2.2 Million Gallons – Minimum Day
  • Drought conditions persisted during the summer leading to restrictions:
    • June 22, 2020 – Moderate Drought declared
    • August 18, 2020 – Severe Drought declared – Voluntary Water Restrictions imposed
    • September 10, 2020 – Extreme Drought conditions – Odd/Even Water Restrictions imposed
    • Precipitation in late November and early December 2020 helped improve drought conditions
  • Construction of a new water filtration system to treat PFAS contamination at Pease continued
  • Staff implemented operating procedures to safely continue operations of water system during Covid-19 pandemic

Water supplied to Portsmouth water system customers comes from a combination of surface water and groundwater sources. The surface water supply is the Bellamy Reservoir, which is located in Madbury and Dover. Water flows from the reservoir to the Water Treatment Facility (WTF) in Madbury, where it is treated using a coagulation, dissolved air floatation and dual media filtration process. The treated water is chlorinated with sodium hypochlorite before distribution into the system. Sodium hydroxide (used to adjust the final pH and alkalinity), fluoride as hydrofluorosilicic acid (used to prevent tooth decay) and poly/ortho-phosphate (a sequestering chemical to reduce precipitation of iron and manganese, and inhibit corrosion is used to protect distribution system pipes) are also added before distribution to our regionally served water customers.

Water supplied to Pease Tradeport water system customers comes primarily from the groundwater wells located on the Tradeport (Harrison Well and Smith Well). Portsmouth water system (EPA PWSID# 1951010) supplies water to the Pease Tradeport water system as needed.

Access 2020 Year in Review Report here: https://www.cityofportsmouth.com/publicworks/water/supply-status

drought map