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Old 10-23-2009, 10:00 PM
Zod Zod started this thread
 
Location: A feeble planet called Earth
32 posts, read 72,079 times
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How is the drinking water around Portsmouth? I checked it out on Sperling's and it scored very low. Sperling's isn't always the most accurate or up-to-date on all of its data, so that's why I'm asking. I suppose I could spend an evening digging through websites but I thought I'd give the community a chance to clue me in.

Incidentally, I live in Las Vegas. The water quality here is high (for now, while it lasts) but it's too gross to drink from the tap. How does your water taste?
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Old 10-24-2009, 10:31 AM
 
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my well water in Derry was the sweetest, best tasting water I've ever had.

my well water in Candia tested high for minerals, but still tasted fine.

My well water in the lakes region, tastes horrible and smells like sulfur. I have to use a water softener and purifier to make it taste OK, not great, but OK. My next door neighbors on either side do not have that problem, but the house 3 doors down has the same sulfur stench that I do. They dug a new well, but it didn't help. It's hit or miss.

The city water in Manchester tastes like chlorine and sucks. The city water in Portsmouth is not AS bad.
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Old 10-24-2009, 11:54 AM
 
Location: Kensington NH
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water is water.....I just drink it.
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Old 10-24-2009, 05:46 PM
Zod Zod started this thread
 
Location: A feeble planet called Earth
32 posts, read 72,079 times
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Thanks BN.Very insightful FF.Perhaps the area's history of milling has something to do with it. The nastiest water I ever tasted was in central Illinois near Starved Rock state park. The water smelled bad, had flakes floating in it, and was a rusty color. We lived near a chemical plant. At night I used to glow a pale green.
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Old 10-25-2009, 03:44 PM
 
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I've traveled a few times to the south and the midwest - the water is much harder here but tastes good for the most part. (well water anyway).

I didn't/COULDN'T drink the water in Ohio, Indiana or IL.
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Old 10-26-2009, 06:00 AM
 
Location: Londonderry, NH
41,478 posts, read 59,660,138 times
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The quality of the water (taste, hardness and appearance) is, assuming a properly drilled, cased and sealed well, are entirely dependant on the exact geology in which they are located. Wells drilled into limestone or marble tend to deliver very good tasting but very hard water while wells drilled into granite are usually not as good tasting but not as hard. If a vein of pegmatite is reached the water may be awful. Bitter, smelly and turns purple or rusty when exposed to air. This is because the water is slightly acidic and loaded with iron, manganese and sulfur dissolved from the rock. Pegmatites are rocks formed from underground deposition of minerals previously dissolved in very hot very high pressure underground water. New Hampshire, being located on a very old continental suture has just about every type of rock available on earth and what kind of water you get is dependant on exactly what the wells penetrates.

There are household scale water treatment systems that can remove just about any contaminant from excess calcium to sulfur. Talk to a water testing company before you talk to a softener supplier. Most municipal water supplies are from surface water, streams or lakes, that are filtered, conditioned and disinfected by chlorination before distribution to the consumers. Some surface waters do have a peculiar taste from the residual chlorine. The chlorine residual is required to access the safety of the water in the ends of the system. Use an on faucet carbon filter if this is a problem.
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Old 10-26-2009, 03:09 PM
 
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Portsmouth tap water tastes fine, and I'm pretty sensitive to poor-tasting tap water.
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Old 10-27-2009, 08:22 AM
 
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Portsmouth just requested $22M to replace their water treatment plant which is located in Madbury. It was built in 1958. this water treatment facility provides approximately 50% of the drinking water needed for several New Hampshire communities including Portsmouth, Newington, New Castle, Greenland, parts of Rye, Madbury, Durham and the Pease International Tradeport.

Of all the applications for drinking water projects submitted to the state, the Portsmouth plant is the most expensive.


The water for Portsmouth comes from the Bellamy River reservoir. As it enters the treatment plant it is the color of tea. the murkiness is caused by tiny particles of dirt and organic material in the water. 99% of the time, the plant is able to purify the water. However, when seasons change or if flooding happens, it's tough. It's time to upgrade.

The Department of Environmental Services ranked the plant fifth among 265 drinking water projects submitted.


The plant applied for $5M in stimulus money. I don't know if it was approved.
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