|
06-14-2021, 12:09 PM
|
|
|
|
23 posts, read 19,094 times
Reputation: 23
|
|
|
Might be moving to the Portsmouth area early 2022. Newmarket and Dover are at the top of the list for places to live. Have had issues with drinking water in the past so safe drinking water is a very important factor. Looking up information from the EPA and other sources it seems Newmarket/Portsmouth has some of the lowest ratings I've ever seen (the EPA lists Newmarket as a 20, where I currently live is a 90). I was surprised since New Hampshire is in the top 5 states with the best overall drinking water.
I was just curious if maybe this was old/inaccurate information or if anybody had any first hand knowledge of the drinking water situation in the area, its safety, etc.
Thanks so much!
|
|
06-14-2021, 02:58 PM
|
|
|
|
8,549 posts, read 5,493,068 times
Reputation: 9846
|
|
|
You can see the water quality reports for each city and town that provides drinking water. Simply google "town name water quality reports" and have a good read.
|
|
06-14-2021, 03:13 PM
|
|
|
|
Location: Newburyport, MA
8,636 posts, read 5,556,095 times
Reputation: 10656
|
|
|
I don't know the specifics here, but you want to be careful to distinguish between municipal water quality for people on a public water supply and well water quality for those who aren't - they can be very different, as they're often drawn from different sources and municipal water is treated and regularly tested and well water is not.
|
|
06-14-2021, 06:13 PM
|
|
|
|
23 posts, read 19,094 times
Reputation: 23
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by robr2
You can see the water quality reports for each city and town that provides drinking water. Simply google "town name water quality reports" and have a good read.
|
Yes, I was able to see the water reports but I have no idea how to interpret them. They just list a bunch of contaminants and numbers but nothing about safe levels, the quality, etc. |
|
06-14-2021, 06:51 PM
|
|
|
|
Location: WMHT
4,450 posts, read 5,008,655 times
Reputation: 6407
|
|
Newmarket's town water comes from multiple municipal wells.
Has a fair amount of detail, including a column on "Health Effects of Contaminant":
https://www.newmarketnh.gov/environm...uality-reports |
|
06-15-2021, 12:30 AM
|
|
|
|
4,474 posts, read 2,941,234 times
Reputation: 12796
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by yellowanchor
Yes, I was able to see the water reports but I have no idea how to interpret them. They just list a bunch of contaminants and numbers but nothing about safe levels, the quality, etc.
|
If you need to find the safe range of "all those numbers," the info was on both the NH DES and the EPA websites the last time I checked. Water quality depends on the test results, unless you're looking for subjective reports like taste tests. |
|
06-15-2021, 11:55 AM
|
|
|
|
23 posts, read 19,094 times
Reputation: 23
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by KCZ
If you need to find the safe range of "all those numbers," the info was on both the NH DES and the EPA websites the last time I checked. Water quality depends on the test results, unless you're looking for subjective reports like taste tests.
|
Thanks. I will look more into it. It seemed very confusing to translate everything which is part of my concern. Where I currently live they very clearly explain everything and give simple ratings of the quality.
I guess I was just hoping that someone in the Newmarket area had some more specific info as a resident or general safety info. Just want to make sure the water is safe.
The EPA's rating for Newmarket is 20. For comparison, they rating for Detroit, what I thought was some of the worst water in the country, is 36 (100=best, the US average is 55). Just seems highly concerning that Newmarket has some of the worst water in the country according to the EPAs watershed metrics. |
|
06-20-2021, 11:44 AM
|
|
|
|
4,474 posts, read 2,941,234 times
Reputation: 12796
|
|
|
Just get a water test before you do anything. I've tested wells on 2 properties which had no arsenic issues at all. All public water systems are supposed to be in compliance with the new, lower arsenic levels by next month.
|
|
06-20-2021, 12:43 PM
|
|
|
|
23 posts, read 19,094 times
Reputation: 23
|
|
Quote:
Originally Posted by ranmic
|
Looks like bottled is the way to go.
This is all so confusing. On so many lists, like this one, NH is in the top five states for drinking water. Yet every individual town I look at seems to have the worst in the country.
https://www.tonymappedit.com/this-ma...-usa-by-state/ |
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
|
|
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Newmarket's town water comes from multiple municipal wells.
