What's New

The City of Portsmouth Department of Public Works will hold its biannual Household Hazardous Waste Collection Day on Saturday, September 14, 2024 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 Department of Public Works Parking Enforcement Department, which manages the crossing guard schedule, asks motorists to be mindful of increased pedestrian activity and to follow the directions from crossing guards with vests and signs as they assist students and their guardians who are walking and biking to school.

The City of Portsmouth NH Inspection Department has posted to its page on the City website a courtesy summary of the latest New Hampshire Building Code amendments provided by the Building Code Review Board. The Inspection Department has also posted a NH Building Codes guidance document on the website,

Since 2006, the City of Portsmouth Welfare Department has collected back-to-school supplies for children in need. The goal of this project is to level the playing field as much as possible for students from Pre-K to Post Grad, to make sure every student in the Portsmouth community has the tools they need to begin a successful school year. The first day of school is just a few short weeks away. 

The City of Portsmouth announces the temporary closure of the Portsmouth Skate Park on Greenland Road, Monday August 12 through Thursday, August 15, 2024, to allow the contractor to complete a punch list of necessary final details for the project. The skate park will re-open for use on Friday morning, August 16. The lights will not be functional during the closure. Access to the Seacoast Greenway Trailhead will remain open.

On Tuesday, August 13, 2024, neighborhoods throughout Portsmouth will join forces with thousands of communities nationwide for the 41st Annual National Night Out Against Crime. 

National Night Out (NNO), which is sponsored by the National Association of Town Watch (NATW), will involve over 17,000 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities and military bases around the world. In all, over 38 million people are expected to participate in “America’s National Night Out Against Crime.” 

The Portsmouth and Pease drinking water systems continue to experience high demand in both systems due to irrigation and cooling system usage. In the last month the combined system demands have averaged 5.4 million gallons a day. Fortunately, water levels in both the City's reservoir and groundwater sources are holding up and system operators are managing the system such that water supplies are meeting these demands.

The cities of Dover and Portsmouth, along with the towns of Newmarket, Durham and Exeter are challenging each other to see which community’s residents can do the most to fight climate change.

Specifically, the municipalities are launching a friendly competition to see which town can convince the highest percentage of customers of their community power programs to “opt-up” to greener (generated by from more renewable sources) electricity choices.

As the Department of Public Works continues to keep City property clear of obstructions and its lawns and gardens trimmed, the Parks & Greenery Department asks for residents help in keeping sidewalks and roadway sight lines clear.

Private property owners are required by City ordinance to keep the plants and shrubs on their property trimmed so as not to interfere with or obscure public property. This means keeping hedges bordering sidewalks and plants that might obstruct visibility at driveway and road intersections trimmed back. 

The City of Portsmouth Health and Water Departments are taking the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue of the risks of lead poisoning by providing the following information and a free lead testing program.

Lead in Water: While the City Water System has no lead in its source waters and tests the water system regularly, as required, to confirm there are no detectable levels of lead in the drinking water in your home, that might come from pipes and fixtures, we recommend a routine water test for lead.