Serving Rhode Island & Southeastern Massachusetts
Portsmouth Water & Fire District purchased all of its 2025 water from Newport Water. Most is treated at the Lawton Valley Water Treatment Plant in Portsmouth, with occasional treatment at Station One in Newport. Newport draws from nine surface-water reservoirs across Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton, Middletown and Newport. Because the source is surface water rather than groundwater, treatment focuses on filtration and disinfection rather than the naturally occurring minerals more common in well water — one reason Portsmouth's hardness reading runs low for the region.
Portsmouth Water & Fire District lists municipal hardness at 45–55 mg/L as calcium carbonate, equal to about 2.6–3.2 grains per gallon, and classifies the supply as soft. That is a useful baseline, but AquaTrust still tests the home so we can confirm the current conditions at the faucet and evaluate the rest of the water-quality picture before recommending treatment. For context, water is generally considered soft below 60 mg/L (3.5 grains per gallon) and moderately hard between 60 and 120 mg/L, so Portsmouth's reported range sits toward the softer end of that scale — though individual plumbing, especially in older homes, can still leave mineral deposits worth checking.
The District reported 73.3 ppb TTHMs, 21.4 ppb HAA5, 1.18 ppm chlorine, 4.8 ppb lead at the 90th percentile, 0.86 ppm nitrate and a finished-water total of 7.33 ppt for Rhode Island's six regulated PFAS compounds. The report states there were no listed violations for these regulated parameters. For scale, the EPA's limits are 80 ppb for TTHMs, 60 ppb for HAA5 and 4 ppm for chlorine, and Rhode Island's PFAS6 standard is 20 ppt. Portsmouth's chlorine, HAA5, nitrate and PFAS6 results sit comfortably below their respective limits, though the 73.3 ppb TTHM result is closer to its 80 ppb limit than the other measured parameters — still compliant, but a data point some homeowners may want to ask the District about directly.
Portsmouth's utility report is a system-level snapshot. Lead can come from plumbing inside a property, and private wells in out-of-district areas have their own chemistry. If a homeowner is concerned about PFAS, lead or another health-related contaminant, use an appropriate certified test before choosing treatment. That matters most for the roughly 1-in-33 lead samples that exceeded the action level in the District's own 2025 testing — a reminder that a compliant system-wide average doesn't rule out an issue at an individual tap.
Whole-home carbon can be a strong option for Portsmouth homeowners focused on chlorine-related taste and odor or certain disinfection byproducts. AquaTrust tests the home first so the recommendation is based on the water you actually use, not simply on a townwide report.
Under-sink reverse osmosis treats water at the point of use and can be a strong fit for homeowners who want an additional drinking-water barrier without treating every gallon used for showers, laundry and irrigation.
If lead is a concern, the District can help customers obtain certified tap testing. A filter used for lead should have appropriate independent certification and should be treated as one risk-reduction measure—not a substitute for addressing a lead-containing plumbing source when replacement is feasible. Point-of-use filters certified under NSF/ANSI Standard 53 for lead reduction are the relevant category, and should be paired with confirmation testing after installation to verify they're performing as expected.
Yes. The District's published hardness range of 2.6–3.2 grains per gallon is useful context, but it is not a complete test of the water inside your home. AquaTrust checks the conditions at your faucet so we can confirm hardness and identify any other issues worth addressing. The goal is not to sell every house the same system—it is to find out what your water actually needs. That's especially true for the roughly 10% of Portsmouth properties on private wells, where there is no utility report at all and testing is the homeowner's sole responsibility.
Your results drive the recommendation. We explain what matters, what does not, and what—if anything—is worth treating.
Local water context is useful, but treatment decisions should follow the actual condition at the home. These pages connect common homeowner concerns to the right next step.
