City of Portsmouth NH Moves to Acquire Parcel for Drinking Water Source Protection

At its July 10, 2023 meeting the Portsmouth City Council voted to approve a resolution to purchase a conservation easement to protect water quality on a property adjacent to the Bellamy Reservoir. Protecting the Bellamy Reservoir and its watershed is critical to maintaining water supply quality for the long-term in the Portsmouth Water System and the City has identified and ranked 15 adjacent parcels for protection. The Reservoir is the primary supply of fresh water treated at the City’s Madbury Water Treatment Facility and delivered to communities in the seacoast region. The resolution authorized the $1.478 million purchase using a $714,000 Supplemental Appropriation from the Water Fund Unrestricted Net Position, a $739,000 grant from the New Hampshire Drinking Water and Groundwater Trust Fund, and grant funding up to $25,000 from New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Local Source Water Protection Program.

The City recently received the 2023 Source Water Protection Award from NHDES for its previous efforts to protect properties around the Bellamy Reservoir through the purchase of conservation easements. In presenting the award, NHDES Commissioner Robert E. Scott said, “This award is presented to Portsmouth for the City’s multi-year effort to protect high-priority water supply lands around the Bellamy Reservoir. This effort stands out as a model in terms of protecting critical water supply lands that serve to protect the reservoir, a primary source of drinking water for the City.”

In 2020 the City’s Department of Public Works Water Division partnered with Southeast Land Trust (SELT) to purchase a conservation easement on approximately 107 acres adjacent to the Reservoir. This acquisition complemented the conservation easement secured in 2018 on 72 acres of property adjacent to the Bellamy Reservoir in Madbury. Both easements were obtained through the combined efforts of the City, SELT and the Town of Madbury. With their help, the City applied for and received a total of $483,600 grant funds from the New Hampshire Groundwater and Drinking Water Trust Fund and approximately $11,500 from the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership for these previous easements. These grants were matched by funding authorized by the Portsmouth City Council from the City’s Water Enterprise Fund.

Go to more information on the City’s Water System and source water protection efforts.

For the presentation to City Council July 10, 2023, go to: [Poster Presentation Title] (cityofportsmouth.com)