What's New

The Portsmouth and Pease drinking water systems continue to experience high demand in both systems due to irrigation and cooling system usage. In the last month the combined system demands have averaged 5.4 million gallons a day. Fortunately, water levels in both the City's reservoir and groundwater sources are holding up and system operators are managing the system such that water supplies are meeting these demands.

The cities of Dover and Portsmouth, along with the towns of Newmarket, Durham and Exeter are challenging each other to see which community’s residents can do the most to fight climate change.

Specifically, the municipalities are launching a friendly competition to see which town can convince the highest percentage of customers of their community power programs to “opt-up” to greener (generated by from more renewable sources) electricity choices.

As the Department of Public Works continues to keep City property clear of obstructions and its lawns and gardens trimmed, the Parks & Greenery Department asks for residents help in keeping sidewalks and roadway sight lines clear.

Private property owners are required by City ordinance to keep the plants and shrubs on their property trimmed so as not to interfere with or obscure public property. This means keeping hedges bordering sidewalks and plants that might obstruct visibility at driveway and road intersections trimmed back. 

The City of Portsmouth Health and Water Departments are taking the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue of the risks of lead poisoning by providing the following information and a free lead testing program.

Lead in Water: While the City Water System has no lead in its source waters and tests the water system regularly, as required, to confirm there are no detectable levels of lead in the drinking water in your home, that might come from pipes and fixtures, we recommend a routine water test for lead.

The City of Portsmouth has received an independent engineering report regarding the property at 276/278 State Street from Jeff Nawrocki of JSN Associates, LLC.

Sail Portsmouth welcomes a parade of the US Coast Guard barque Eagle and a flotilla of other vessels to Portsmouth on Friday, July 26 starting at 9 am. The Parade of Sail features an impressive lineup of vessels, including the Ernestina-Morrissey and Denis Sullivan, along with the iconic gundalow Piscataqua, a US Navy tug, the City fireboat, and a multitude of supporting pleasure craft and fishing vessels.

The Community Power Coalition of New Hampshire (CPCNH) Board of Directors has announced an 18 percent decrease in the Portsmouth Community Power base electric rate compared to the rate Eversource has requested from the Public Utilities Commission for the same period. A base rate of 8.6¢ per kilowatt-hour for residential and small commercial customers goes into effect from August 1, 2024 through January 31, 2025 for Portsmouth and other CPCNH customers.

Out of an abundance of caution, the City is closing the sidewalks and travel lanes abutting the property of 278 State Street. Crews from the Department of Public Works have placed barriers around the building. This closure includes a portion of State Street near Pleasant Street, and Church Street.