Portsmouth Residents Urged to Use Less Water Due to Shortage

Residents of The Seacoast should think about conservation after a mechanical issue affected the water supply.

Portsmouth residents may have to think about using less of the H20 after a supply control valve failed at the Madbury Water Treatment Plant.

Below is the full press release from the Department of Public Works on the issue

Portsmouth Water System Requests Voluntary Water Conservation Measures 

The Department of Public Works – Water Division is requesting all water customers to voluntarily conserve water due to a mechanical issue at their Madbury Water Treatment Plant.

“We experienced a mechanical failure of one of our three supply control valves during last night’s thunderstorm,” said Brian Goetz, Deputy Director of Public Works. “Therefore, we are currently running the facility with the remaining two units which reduces water production by a third.”

Goetz added that, “the vendor’s service department has been contacted to fix the valve but a timeframe for its repair has yet to be determined; therefore, we are recommending that customers reduce their water usage as much as possible, especially if it is non-essential irrigation.

”The water system is currently meeting supply demands with the treatment facility running at a reduced rate, combined with three wells in Madbury, two in Portsmouth, one in Greenland and two in Pease. Goetz also added that, “the loss of the Haven Well as a supply source in Pease is an additional impact given that water from the Portsmouth system is necessary to supplement the water demands there.”

Similar to the previous request of limited water use made in May due to hot and dry conditions that month, Goetz stressed that “public participation in simple practices such as limiting outdoor water use, and only watering if absolutely necessary, will be helpful in alleviating water demands.

If we don’t see a reduction in usage or we have other supply issues we may have to issue mandatory irrigation restrictions.”

In addition to the water conservation status, customers can find information regarding the customer water demand, precipitation levels, groundwater levels, river flows, reservoir levels and water supply capabilities. Updated reports will continue to be posted at www.cityofportsmouth.com/publicworks under the “Water” section.

For more information, please contact Brian Goetz, Deputy Director of Public Works at 766-1420, or Al Pratt, Water Resources Engineer at 766-1538.