Pease Tradeport Water System

Go to a 10-Year History Timeline on Portsmouth's PFAS Treatment Efforts, 2014-2024

Pease Water Treatment System Update Presentation - September 14, 2021 for the Pease Restoration Advisory Board

Water Quality and Response to PFAS Compounds

For information about the Portsmouth Water System's PFAS sampling, click here.

The City of Portsmouth took the Haven Well off-line in 2014 after testing revealed the presence of PFOS chemicals in the water above the EPA’s preliminary health advisory level. Following seven years of research, treatment piloting and engineering design followed by the installation of a sophisticated, multi-step filtering system at the Pease Water Treatment Facility, the NH Department of Environmental Services issued a permit for the City to restore operation of the well. PFOS is one of a class of chemicals known as Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substance (often referred to as PFCs or PFAS). PFAS compounds are a diverse group of compounds resistant to heat, water, and oil. For decades, they have been used in hundreds of industrial applications and consumer products such as carpeting, apparels, upholstery, food paper wrappings, fire-fighting foams and metal plating. The contamination at the Haven Well has been attributed to the past use of firefighting foam at the air base and the air base’s fire training center. Because the level of PFOS exceeded the "provisional health advisory" set by the EPA, the well was shut down and it has been off ever since. Since 2014, significant steps have been taken by the project response technical team, which includes the City of Portsmouth, the Air Force Civil Engineering Center, the EPA, the NHDES and the Pease Development Authority. The following links to information provide more detail, data and project summaries.

The following timeline provides a summary of key events and actions taken as part of the response:

April 2014	Pease wells are sampled for PFAS compounds.
May 12, 2014	PFAS results are reported to City of Portsmouth and Haven Well is taken out of service. The other two wells continue to supply water to the Tradeport and are supplemented and blended with City of Portsmouth water.
May 2014 to present	Technical team convenes and starts PFAS response and investigation. Comprehensive water quality sampling program is implemented by the Air Force. Sampling includes monitoring of other water supply wells and surrounding areas of Pease.
2014 to present	Numerous public meetings and outreach materials are provided to the public about the history and status of the Tradeport water system.
January 2015	“Testing for Pease” organizes and advocates for blood testing of Tradeport water users effected by contamination.
July 2015	The EPA issues an order to the Air Force that they design a treatment system for the Tradeport’ s drinking water system and also design a separate treatment system to treat PFAS in the Pease aquifer.
September 1, 2015	Senator’s Jean Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte arrange a meeting with the Air Force and the City. At the meeting the City presents information about the water system’s operations and proposes treatment of all three wells at Pease.
May 2016	The EPA establishes Lifetime Health Advisories for PFOA and PFOs.
September 2016	Activated carbon filters are installed on the Tradeport’s Smith and Harrison Wells as part of demonstration project to determine design parameters for final treatment system.
October 2017	Haven Well piloting of activated carbon and resin treatment systems begins.
2018	Final water treatment system design
November 16, 2018	Treatment System design approval letter from New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services.
December 2018	Treatment upgrade goes out to bid.
January 2019	Kinsmen Corporation, of Hookset, NH is the winning bidder (of five bidders) and is awarded the Treatment System upgrade project.
April 2019	Construction of new Treatment system begins.
April 2020	New Granular Activated Carbon (GAC) filters completed.
April 2021	New Resin Filters approved by NHDES and put into service for Harrison and Smith Wells.
April / May 2021	Haven Well pump and water quality testing performed.
May 4, 2021	Pease Water Treatment Facility dedication.
July 23, 2021	NHDES approval to reactivate the Haven Well and begin treatment through the Pease WTP.
August 3, 2021	Haven Well is reactivated.

The following documents provide additional Information:

Pease well monitoring and sampling results

The Air Force's consultants under the direction of the EPA and DES and in cooperation with the City of Portsmouth have been sampling PFCs in and around the effected Portsmouth drinking water wells. Once validated, this data is posted below:

PFAS Information

Pease Restoration Advisory Board (Pease RAB)

The Air Force Civil Engineer Center, or AFCEC, has reestablished the Restoration Advisory Board at the former Pease Air Force Base. The first meeting of this Board was held on April 19, 2016.

The Pease Restoration Advisory Board, or RAB, is a stakeholder group that meets quarterly to discuss ongoing environmental restoration of Pease. It provides community members an open forum to talk with the Air Force and regulatory agencies about environmental restoration activities. With input from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the Pease RAB was recently reestablished due in part to recent concerns over the presence of perfluorinated compounds, or PFCs, in groundwater at the former base.

The Pease RAB consists of 14 board members, including eight local volunteer community members and six appointed members representing the Air Force, regulatory agencies, the Pease Development Authority and the City of Portsmouth. A RAB Orientation Meeting was held in March to provide information on RAB member roles and responsibilities and to assist them in gaining an understanding of environmental issues at Pease.

Information about past and upcoming meetings can be accessed here.

Pease Community Assistance Panel

The Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), a federal public health agency, is evaluating the public health impact of drinking water contaminated with perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at the Pease International Tradeport site and nearby wells. ATSDR has created a Community Assistance Panel (CAP) for Pease as a way for the community to participate directly in ATSDR’s health activities. CAP members are voluntary, unpaid individuals from the Pease community. CAP members will work with ATSDR to gather and review community health concerns, provide information on how people might have been exposed to hazardous substances, and inform ATSDR how to involve the community.

Information and meeting schedules can be accessed here.

Community Advisory Board - Haven Well

The Community Advisory Board was requested by the State of New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (NH DHHS) in response to public input that communication and community inclusion in discussions regarding the Haven Well contamination issue needed improvement. Please click here to learn more.

Other Information

September 1, 2015

Senator’s Jean Shaheen and Kelly Ayotte arrange a meeting with the Air Force and the City. At the meeting the City presents information about the water system’s operations and proposes treatment of all three wells at Pease.

March 31, 2015

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) hosted a public meeting to respond to any questions and inform the public on blood testing protocol. The Division of Public Health Services was offering testing to people who consumed water from the Pease Tradeport water system that was determined in May 2014 to have levels of PFCs (perfluorochemicals) above the provisional health advisory levels set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

March 16, 2015

On Monday, March 16th, Rick Cricenti, Director of the Emergency Services Unit, NH Department of Health & Human Services, addressed City Council regarding the Haven Well contaminant detection and subsequent blood test funding. He provided the following fact sheet on Perfluorinated Chemicals (PFCs). To view his presentation, scroll to 1 hour and 3 minutes here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yslGbM83Xik

May 23, 2015

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services' Division of Public Health Services, and the City of Portsmouth hosted a public informational meeting to discuss and answer questions about the discovery of an unregulated contaminant, perfluorooctane sulfonic acid, at a level that exceeded the "provisional health advisory", in the drinking water supply that serves the businesses and tenants at Pease Tradeport.

May 22, 2014

On Monday May 12, 2014, City of Portsmouth staff were notified by the New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) that water sampling results for the Haven Well showed that perfluorooctanesulfonic acid, an unregulated contaminant, exceeded the provisional health advisory levels recommended by the Environmental Protection Agency. The Smith and Harrison wells also had levels of this unregulated contaminant in their water but they were well below the advisory levels. As a precautionary measure, the City took the Haven Well immediately off line as recommended by NHDES Drinking Water and Groundwater Bureau. Therefore, all sources of supply currently serving the Pease Tradeport Water System are below the provisional standard

May 22, 2014 Summary of Key Points

The Haven Well will remain off-line indefinitely.
The City is not in violation of any state or federal drinking water standard. This is an unregulated compound of concern and regulators and the City are taking conservative precautionary measures.
The Pease and Portsmouth water systems consist of two separate zones that are isolated from each other, but interconnections exist between the two systems for temporary back up and in case of emergencies. The water that feeds the Portsmouth zone (which also serves portions of Greenland, Madbury, New Castle, Newington, Madbury and Rye) was tested for this unregulated compound and none were detected.
There is currently sufficient water to supply the Pease system customers. Historically, the Haven Well provided 46% of the water to the Pease system. To make up for that source, the water operations staff is providing supplemental water to Pease through the Portsmouth system.
The City is working with regulators to continue investigation of this issue and options with respect to treatment and/or replacement of this water source.

We will continue to provide updated information as we have it.
The City takes water quality and safety seriously and is working closely with the regulators to learn more about this unregulated compound. In the meantime the Haven Well will remain off line. Questions related to this issue are to be directed to Brian Goetz at (603) 766-1420.