Portsmouth: A Navy Town with Navy-Sized Contamination
Portsmouth, Virginia — population around 98,000 — has been a Navy town since before the United States existed. The Norfolk Naval Shipyard (despite its name, it’s actually in Portsmouth) has operated continuously since 1767, making it the oldest and largest industrial facility in the U.S. Navy. Over 250 years of shipbuilding, repair, and military operations have left an environmental footprint that stretches across the city.
Norfolk Naval Shipyard and PFAS
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard used aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF) for decades in firefighting training and emergency response. AFFF contains PFAS — the “forever chemicals” that don’t break down in the environment and accumulate in human tissue.
The Department of Defense has identified the Norfolk Naval Shipyard as one of hundreds of military installations nationwide requiring PFAS investigation. DOD’s preliminary assessments have included:
- Sampling of groundwater beneath and around the shipyard
- Assessment of surface water and sediment in the Elizabeth River adjacent to the facility
- Evaluation of potential migration pathways from the shipyard to off-base water sources
Portsmouth’s municipal water system draws from the Norfolk water supply (Lake Gaston and associated reservoirs) rather than local groundwater, which provides distance from shipyard contamination. But residents living near the shipyard who have private wells, or who are exposed through other pathways like contaminated fish from the Elizabeth River, face different risks.
The Elizabeth River: An Industrial Waterway
The Elizabeth River runs through Portsmouth and has been one of the most contaminated waterways in the Chesapeake Bay watershed. Centuries of industrial use — shipbuilding, creosote treatment plants, chemical manufacturing, and petroleum storage — left heavy contamination in river sediments:
- PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons) — from creosote wood treatment operations, particularly the former Atlantic Wood Industries Superfund site in Portsmouth
- Heavy metals — copper, lead, zinc, and mercury from shipyard operations and industrial discharge
- PCBs — from various industrial sources along the river
- Petroleum compounds — from fuel storage and transfer operations
The Atlantic Wood Industries Superfund site — a former wood treatment facility on the Elizabeth River in Portsmouth — used creosote and pentachlorophenol from the 1920s through 1992. EPA has been conducting cleanup at this site for decades, including dredging contaminated sediment and treating groundwater.
The Elizabeth River Project, a nonprofit conservation organization, has led restoration efforts that have shown measurable improvement in river health since the 1990s. But legacy contamination in deep sediments will persist for generations.
Sea Level Rise and Water Infrastructure
The Hampton Roads region, which includes Portsmouth, is experiencing some of the fastest relative sea level rise on the East Coast. This is due to a combination of global sea level rise and local land subsidence — the ground is literally sinking as the region rebounds (or rather, doesn’t rebound) from the last ice age.
For water quality, this creates several problems:
- Saltwater intrusion — rising seas push saltwater into coastal aquifers, increasing chloride levels in groundwater
- Infrastructure flooding — water and sewer infrastructure that was built above flood levels is increasingly vulnerable to tidal and storm flooding
- Combined sewer challenges — flooding events can overwhelm stormwater and sewer systems, leading to overflows that contaminate waterways
- Groundwater rise — as the water table rises with sea levels, buried contaminants that were above the water table can become submerged and mobilized
Portsmouth has experienced chronic flooding issues, with some neighborhoods regularly inundated during high tides and storms. Each flooding event is an opportunity for contamination to move — from contaminated soil into floodwater, from flooded sewer systems into waterways, and from rising groundwater through contaminated sites.
Current Water Quality
Portsmouth receives treated water from the City of Norfolk’s water system, which draws primarily from Lake Gaston in southern Virginia and North Carolina. This surface water source is located far from the industrial contamination in the Portsmouth area, providing good source water quality.
The treated water meets federal and state drinking water standards. The challenge for Portsmouth residents is less about what comes out of the treatment plant and more about what happens between the plant and the tap:
- Aging distribution system — older pipes can leach lead and copper, particularly in homes with lead service lines or lead solder
- Low-pressure events — infrastructure failures or flooding can allow groundwater infiltration into water mains
- Private wells — any remaining private wells in the Portsmouth area should be considered at risk given the density of contamination sources
What Portsmouth Residents Can Do
Review the annual Consumer Confidence Report from your water provider. If you’re on the Norfolk/Portsmouth system, look for lead and copper results specifically — older homes are most at risk.
If you have a private well, get it tested immediately. Given Portsmouth’s industrial history and proximity to the shipyard and Superfund sites, a comprehensive test panel including VOCs, metals, and PFAS is warranted.
If you eat fish from the Elizabeth River, check the Virginia Department of Health’s fish consumption advisories — some species in some reaches still carry warnings due to PCBs and PAHs.
For any water quality concerns, a certified water treatment professional can evaluate your specific situation and recommend appropriate solutions.
Sources: EPA Superfund profile for Atlantic Wood Industries; Department of Defense PFAS investigation reports; Elizabeth River Project monitoring data; Virginia Department of Environmental Quality; Hampton Roads Planning District Commission sea level rise studies; USGS groundwater studies for the Virginia Coastal Plain.