Portsmouth officials outline roughly $1.9 billion in water and sewer needs; urge grants, loans and rate study

Mister Wright, presenting for the City of Portsmouth’s public utilities/engineering group, told the City Council at a work session that the city’s water and sanitary‑sewer systems are largely aged, that regulatory changes have increased near‑term requirements and that cumulative capital and rehabilitation needs total roughly $1.9 billion.

The shortfall matters because the systems supply drinking water, support emergency fire flows, and carry sewage to regional treatment. Wright told council the city sources treated water from Suffolk reservoirs and that “more than two thirds of the pipes in our distribution system are fully depreciated and considered to be beyond their useful life.” He warned new dam‑safety and treatment regulations and a consent order on sanitary‑sewer overflows add urgent compliance costs.

Wright gave specifics: Portsmouth draws most water from four Suffolk reservoirs (Lake Mead, Lake Cahoon, Lake Kilby and Space Run); Lake Mead and Lake Cahoon together provide about 74% of intake. The city maintains five dams tied to those supplies; DCR’s new dam‑safety rules and additional inspection requirements mean engineering and rehabilitation work that Wright estimated “exceeds $100,000,000.”

He described an older transmission‑main network that brings treated water into Portsmouth: approximately 18 miles of interlinked mains, including cast iron pipes dating to the 1890s and concrete and ductile‑iron mains installed in the mid‑20th century. Wright said the city averages…