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Is Portsmouth, NH tap water safe?

2 utilities serve Portsmouth, by EPA’s records. Here is what EPA’s and CDC’s records show for each, against the legal limits and the stricter health goals.

Matched to your utility using EPA records.

The short answer

Neither of the 2 utilities serving Portsmouth has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records.

Portsmouth Water Works, which serves the most people here, has 2 results above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029 and 2 results above the health goal. The worst: PFOA at 7.0 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.

A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Portsmouth’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.

What handles it

Each of these is certified, on a certifier’s listing, for a result above a line in Portsmouth Water Works’s water, which serves the most people here. Another utility’s report names what handles its own results.

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Every claim, and more filters, in the full report

Water testing near Portsmouth

A utility tests the water it sends out. A test of your own tap shows what your pipes add, and on a private well it is the only test there is. It takes a lab New Hampshire certifies.

The 3 labs New Hampshire certifies closest to Portsmouth, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.

  • Eurofins Portsmouth

    Portsmouth, NH · under a mile

    Certified for bacteria

    (603) 436-2001

  • Seacoast Analytical Services LLC

    Lee, NH · about 6 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (603) 868-1457

  • Nelson Analytical LLC - Maine Division

    Kennebunk, ME · about 25 miles

    Certified for bacteria, nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics

    (207) 467-3478

All 63 certified labs for New Hampshire

ZIP codes in Portsmouth

Which ZIP codes are in Portsmouth: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: New Hampshire ELAP, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.

Near Portsmouth

Other towns in Rockingham County with a page of their own.

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