DPW Press Releases

Portsmouth, New Hampshire – The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works Water Division begins its seasonal routine flushing of fire hydrants and water mains on Monday, September 21, 2026. Every hydrant in the City will be flushed, starting from the outskirts of the City working in. The flushing will take place for the next six weeks, Monday through Thursday, between 7 am and 11 pm.

Updated: June 22, 2026

The Department of Public Works Water Division has issued a Water Use Advisory in response to ongoing drought conditions affecting the Seacoast region of New Hampshire. 

Department of Public Works will hold its semiannual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, May 9, 2026 at the Public Works facility at 680 Peverly Hill Road. Residents of Portsmouth, Greenland, and Newington are encouraged to bring household chemicals for safe disposal between 8 am and 12 noon.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Revised Lead and Copper Rule (LCRR) requires all public water suppliers to inventory the type of material used in every water service line connected to their water system. The City of Portsmouth submitted its initial inventory of service line materials in October 2024 and has since continued to identify materials that were unknown at that time.

The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works Water Division begins its seasonal flushing of fire hydrants and water mains on Monday, April 6, 2026. The flushing will take place at various locations, Monday through Thursday, between 7 pm and 11 pm, and is expected to take six weeks to complete.

Clean Water Week in New Hampshire takes place April 12-18, 2026. The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works is honoring the event by hosting an open house with guided public tours of both of the City’s wastewater treatment facilities. The Pease Wastewater Treatment Facility Open House is scheduled for Thursday, April 16, 2026 from 2 to 5:30 pm and the Peirce Island Wastewater Treatment Facility Open House is scheduled for Friday, April 17, 2026 from 2 to 5:30 pm.

The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works is hosting an Elwyn Park Sidewalks and Traffic Calming Project Public Information Meeting in the Dondero School Library, located at 32 Van Buren Avenue in Portsmouth, on Wednesday, February 18, 2026 at 6 pm.

The City of Portsmouth NH Department of Public Works is hosting a public information meeting on Tuesday, December 9, 2025 to explain plans for the Congress Street Construction Project anticipated to start on January 5, 2026 and continue to mid-June. The meeting is scheduled for 6 pm in Conference Room A at City Hall (1 Junkins Avenue). To join via Zoom, visit the meeting page and use the registration link provided.